Ecology

Connecting to our natural world

Anne Gageby
Strawberry Hill Nature Preserve

(5/2023) It’s an open secret in education that kids won’t remember how deftly you executed a perfectly planned lesson. After fourteen years in the classroom, I can assure you they will never remember the day you broke down a broad and difficult topic into a bite-sized piece that planted the seed of understanding. They will only remember how you made them feel. Emotional connection to a topic is the keystone to caring about that topic. Math will be little more than numbers if a child doesn’t love adding and subtracting. Reading is boring if a child can’t fall in love with the look and sound of words as they float off the page. And a child won’t care about the environment until they experience the joy that comes from smelling fresh skunk cabbage. I’m kidding – sort of.

I taught a program recently to elementary students who, according to their teacher, didn’t spend much time outside. As we hiked the Nature Trail their energy was electrified as we encountered turtles, a butterfly, and yes, skunk cabbage. The kids took turns being absolutely horrified that a lovely green plant could smell so bad. They were still laughing about it halfway through our hike. Every time we passed a new section of wetland, the kids pointed out the wide rosettes of green leaves and dared one another to take a whiff. Two children debated whether or not the stench could actually make someone pass out. Another asked if skunks ate it and if so, was that why skunks smell so terrible?

Genuine curiosity framed every mile of the hike and brought out more questions than even I had answers for. By the end of our program, we had put together an extensive list of researchable questions and topics for the kids to explore back at school. Two excitedly jumped up and down at the suggestion of going to the library to research – something they weren’t known for, according to their teacher.

The beauty of environmental education is it provides an interactive learning experience that unlocks the imagination. And imagination, at its core, is infinite possibility. Today’s child, stuffing their pockets with pretty stones, becomes the geologist of tomorrow. Songbirds calm the restless child who grows up to study migration patterns of threatened avian species. Traversing the mountainside in search of wild ginseng instills an appreciation for resource management and responsible foraging. These experiences are formative in building a person’s character and mindset. They’re also incredibly fun and memorable.

I know this not because I was a teacher but because I was that child who hiked the trails at Strawberry Hill and listened for great horned owls’ calls. I ate summer berries by the handful, wondering at the vast differences between spicebush, hawthorne, and wineberries. My favorite school field trip was with Mrs. Tammy Deardorff’s second-grade class at Fairfield Elementary. We hiked along the Nature Trail to search for signs of spring. Though I had grown up on Mount Hope and played along this trail countless times, the field trip experience was different. We learned about animal habitats, which birds had already made the trip north, and what Swamp Creek would look like with the coming spring rains. More than three decades later, I still remember the excitement of that afternoon.

You could say mine was the first generation to grow up surrounded by the enthusiasm and love of the Strawberry Hill family. My connection to nature began right here. It shaped who I became as I entered my teens and began teaching myself about wild edibles. It carried me through my time in the Army as I found field exercises and outdoor training preferable to stuffy buildings. And later, as a school librarian, I sought out ways to incorporate environmental education into my lessons at every opportunity.

Environmental education improves critical and creative thinking skills and drives children to discover the world around them. It allows children to ask why the world works the way it does and fosters the desire needed to seek answers. It doesn’t advocate a specific viewpoint. Instead, environmental education teaches kids how to weigh and compare different sides of an issue via critical thinking. This enhances their decision-making and problem-solving skills overall. It also gives a child ownership of their opinions and the freedom to express them. Furthermore, it facilitates a genuine appreciation for nature.

This connection to our natural world is a gift, one that our program at Strawberry Hill hands down to the next generation. Through our school field trips, homeschool, and public programs we build the emotional connection necessary to raising a new generation of environmental stewards. Those who come after us will remember the joy of new discoveries – catching crayfish in the creek, searching for salamanders along the trail, and they’ll cherish their memories of Strawberry Hill just as I have.

They say it takes a village to raise a child and that truth is evident within our program. None of the things I’ve mentioned here would be possible without the greater Strawberry Hill family - the donors and supporters. The families who come to our events and programs. The kids who laugh with excitement at seeing fresh animal tracks. And of course, readers like you. You make the memories possible. You make the love for our environment something tangible that circles back to all of us. Together, we will raise the next generation of environmental stewards and build a brighter world for everyone.

Anne Gageby is the Environmental Education Manager of the Strawberry Hill Foundation. Strawberry Hill inspires stewardship of our natural world by
connecting the community with educational opportunities.
 Learn more by visiting StrawberryHill.org.