(Photo by Bryan Love)
WATSONVILLE — During the last school year, 15 students from New School Community Day School participated in the school’s first Outdoor Science and Character Development program.
The four-day program was so successful that the school expanded it this year to include all the school’s high schoolers and to run seven days.
The Environmental Outdoor Science and Character Development Program was created as a way to offer outdoor education to the students, but also to offer team-building and self-confidence-building activities.
It includes partners from the Watsonville Environmental Science Workshop and Growing Up Wild Adventure Camp, the City of Watsonville Public Works & Utilities Department and Watsonville Wetlands Watch.
It was funded by a Watsonville Rotary Community Grant.
The curriculum allows the teachers to apply Next Generation Science Standards to community projects, such as adopting Watsonville Slough.
“Today, I learned about trust,” said senior Sandy Aguado. “And we had a lot of fun.”
New School Intervention Teacher and 13-year Pajaro Valley Unified School District veteran Emily Halbig said that the program is ideal for students who rarely get to experience the natural areas that surround them.
“One student mentioned to me at the end of the day that his anxiety level had lowered and he was feeling much calmer and happier,” Halbig said.
“Today may have been my best day as a teacher,” she said of this year’s program.
Scheduled activities for the coming weeks include hiking above Eureka Canyon, scientific illustration, water testing, restoration and cleanup of Watsonville Slough, interpreting collected data and presentations of student findings.
The final day of the program will include the Cliffhanger High Ropes Course.
The program, which runs once a week, was created by teacher Bryan Love, along with Growing Up Wild, a Watsonville organization that connects young people to nature.
“The importance of our Outdoor Science & Character Development program is that it engages our student population with Next Generation Science Standards and pro-social skills practice through experiential learning activities,” Love said. “Now with our partnership with the City of Watsonville Public Works and Utilities, our students are able to directly apply the environmental awareness they gain through the program to our adoption practices in Watsonville Slough.”
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To see a video slideshow from New School Outdoor Science & Character Development program, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwnZpfPCcqc.
