Inquiry and Action: Borneo
Students in one of my preservice teacher classes compare vegetation and rock type maps at a local preserve. We are thinking about plant communities and patterns in nature to connect to our place
Class Focus
The main focus of this course is to connect the ideas and concepts we learned in our summer program to an inquiry and action project of our choice. Because this is my third year, I chose to modify the project for this class to complete a literature review. This enabled me to work on what a literature review would look like as well as to build my understanding of sense of place and belonging. Additionally, there is an action component of this course which asks us to take our findings and ideas and create a way to share that with others.
Connection to my Master Plan
My master plan is about how we connect to place and where we live. I work in the k-12 space, but I also wonder about how much we use similar language to consider definitions of belonging in schools versus in environmental education spaces. In this project, I was able to look at definitions of belonging from a wide range of initial locations. I think that I have connected more with my own place as I have spent more time here outside in both stewardship and connection activities. So, this project was both a way to increase my own understanding about belonging as well as to look at it from various perspectives.
IAP Project: Belonging in K-12 vs Environmental Ed Spaces
Paper: Belonging in K-12 school-based and out-of-school based environmental studies: A narrative review
Action Project: Creek Restoration
For my action project I wanted to think about how conservation and stewardship helps you personally connect to the places you live. I participated in a creek restoration project with Grassroots Ecology. I completed my California Naturalist training with Grassroots Ecology in 2018 and I have maintained a connection with them since then. We go on hikes together and complete various restoration projects.