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Originally appears in the Fall 2019 issue.
By Aislinn Benfield
The beginning of the school year brings the familiar flood of emotions: hope, anxiety, excitement, and anticipation. From early August, my brain swirls with questions about the upcoming year. Even in a small school where I already know most of my future students, there are unknowns. But this year is a little different. Unlike the last few school years, which began with a try-try again approach to an environmental club, this fall the club has continued on the high note that ended the last school year. Now, the club is small, but firmly rooted, with a successful project implemented and plans underway for more.
I decided to form an environmental club a few years ago, while I was teaching in a large urban district. Since that time, I have moved to a rural area where I teach in a very small school district. While the student demographics of these schools may be different in many ways, there are actually many commonalities, and I have found the challenges in forming an environmental club to be similar at both locations. I teach middle and high school, and I think the struggles in reaching adolescents are universal. Obviously, I can’t speak to every location and student climate, but there are strategies that have worked for me with many different students, both in forming an environmental club, and as a teacher overall. The two most important are perseverance and the willingness to be flexible.
Although I have experienced setbacks, the idea of connecting students with nature and inspiring a love of conservation has kept me from giving up. The research on children and nature is abundant, clear, and disheartening. Children spend less time interacting with nature1 and more time interacting with screens.2 Thus, kids are not connecting with nature, missing out on its benefits3 and the emotional bond that can lead to future protective action.4 As a science teacher in Pennsylvania, the density of the required curriculum stretches my time to the limit, and I find that environmental education does not get the attention I feel it deserves. A few years ago, I decided it was time for me to take action. As I have alluded to, my first few attempts at forming an environmental club didn’t exactly take off, but persistence and open-mindedness have led to eventual success. Below are some suggestions, based on my personal experience, for establishing and meaningful and lasting environmental club with middle and high school students.
Student-led, but teacher-inspired
My research suggests that environmental clubs should be directed by students exclusively, but my own experience has been slightly different. The first few times I formed an environmental club, I left the activities and the clubs’ over-arching purposes completely open to student planning and direction. As a result, the club meetings often devolved into watching videos or drawing pictures. While these activities were fun, they did not really push us closer to our objectives. In Pennsylvania, particularly the northern part, the weather during much of the school year excludes many outdoor activities. I want an environmental club to help students meaningfully connect to nature, but this is challenging when you are restricted to spending most time indoors. I have found that I need to offer some direction to students to ensure that club time has purpose, and one of the best ways to do this is through a project. After some research, brainstorming, and networking, the project that emerged as the best fit for our club was a pollinator garden, but other projects could certainly bring similar benefits. While a garden itself is, of course, outside, the research, planning, and preparation for it can all be done indoors, providing enough activities to last until the weather is warm enough for planting.
A pollinator garden works well because it has an important local environmental benefit that mirrors larger environmental issues. That is, it serves as a tangible representation of numerous global-scale environmental processes (e.g., carbon cycling, water cycling, pollination, etc.) on a small scale. Passively learning about the role of pollinators is important, but actually planting a garden and seeing pollinators active in nature makes the learning much more relevant. Students can be proud of their work and feel and see their connection to the natural world. They are doing more than learning about environmental problems; they are actually having a positive effect on the environment. However, developing and implementing a project that encompasses these dimensions may be daunting for students, even teenagers, who have little experience with organization and leadership. I have found that my role as a teacher and club mentor has required striking a careful balance between offering inspiration and direction and knowing when to step back and let students take the lead. Furthermore, this balance is different for each student. Some students, especially the younger ones, need more structure and direction, but others flourish when given the opportunity to embrace leadership and creativity.
Make it social
In my early attempts at recruiting environmental club members, I was most frequently asked “Who’s in it?” At first, I tried to emphasize the reason for the club and deemphasize any social component, but I realized that this was putting the wrong spin on the club. Now, while I never forget that the overall purpose of an environmental club is to provide service to nature while enriching students’ connection to it, I think it’s also important to keep it lighthearted and social. After all, I am asking adolescents to give up their free time, so club activities should not feel like work or school. I encourage club members to invite their friends, listen to music, and have fun while working on environmental club projects. Environmental education by its very nature can be a discouraging field, so keeping the club positive and uplifting is very important. The students should feel rewarded by their participation in it, both through the work that they do and by the overall experience.
Find your network
The idea of a pollinator garden came to me one fall afternoon while browsing the internet. I was excited by the idea. The club was just beginning to take root, and I ran it by the members, who were excited and enthusiastic to take on the responsibility of researching, planning, and planting the garden. But then what? I needed to provide support by finding funding and a suitable location. Disappointing the students was not an option, so I had to figure out how to make it work. I had only moved to the area a few months prior, and I was very unfamiliar with the available resources and contacts. I began by talking about my idea to anyone I encountered who would listen — other teachers, administrators, and students. In a discussion with the principal, he mentioned the hospital garden, but his knowledge ended there. I called the hospital main number, was transferred several times, and eventually ended up leaving a message. That message resulted in an email, which led to an invitation to a meeting, and so on… All told, a few minutes of patience on the phone led to the first partnership in what would become a larger network that has made completion of the project possible.
The hospital garden committee proved to be the perfect partner for this project. They provided the space and some grant funding for the pollinator garden. The connection with the hospital then led to more connections until I had developed a broad network of contacts, which not only pushed the project forward, but helped me forge professional relationships with others interested in conservation and education.
Creating this network required me to push myself out of my comfort zone. Presenting my ideas to new people does not come naturally to me, but I recognized that the project would be impossible without connections. I pushed myself and took the leap and got the results I wanted. It required some confidence and resilience, but it was well worth it in the end.
Be creative
Once a location had been secured, the garden project gained some momentum, which also kept the club as a whole moving forward. With a project in place, it was easier to advertise the club around school, which attracted more members. But to keep it going, we needed money and supplies. This was where the students and I had to get creative. Grant funding seemed like the obvious way to go, and there are a surprisingly large number of state and federal grants specifically for school environmental projects and even for pollinator gardens. Unfortunately, by the time the location was secured, the grant deadlines had passed. I expanded my search and came across a Walmart community grant. This grant was a great option for my project because the grant cycle is long (February to December) and grants are evaluated and awarded on a rolling basis. I applied in early spring and we were awarded the money in time to plant the garden at the end of May.
The students were also able to get leftover materials from the art classroom and the woodshop, which they used to make signs for the garden. They collected milk cartons from the cafeteria and used them to germinate seeds. We sought sponsorships for plants from community members, which were marked with signs painted by the environmental club members. Some plants were provided by local nurseries. The creativity and leg work in finding funding for the garden were well worth the effort. The entire process has also been instrumental in developing leadership skills for both the students and me. Again, I pushed myself to approach new people and businesses, but I was especially proud of my club students as they nervously approached unfamiliar teachers and students. They even presented their work to the school board and were interviewed for a newspaper article!
Aislinn Benfield currently teaches eighth-grade science, Biology and Chemistry at a small rural district where she has taught for two years. Previously, she taught in small and large urban districts. She is working on a MAT in Biology through the Global Field Program of Project Dragonfly at Miami University, which provided her inspiration for pursuing an extracurricular environmental club.
References:
1. Louv, R. (2005). Where Will Future Stewards of Nature Come From? Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder (pp. 145-158). Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
2. Clements, R. (2004). An investigation of the status of outdoor play. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 5 (1), 68-80. DOI: 10.2304/ciec.2004.5.1.10.
3. Howell, A.J., Dopko, R.L., Passmore, H. & Buro, K. (2011). Nature connectedness: Associations with well-being and mindfulness. Personality and Individual Difference, 51, 166-171. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2011.03.037.
4. Hinds, J. & Sparks, P. (2008). Engaging with the natural environment: The role of affective connection and identity. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 28, 109-120. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2007.11.001.
