In 1974, when I was a freshman at Pioneer High School and my brother was a sophomore, my mother attended a school board meeting as an observer for The League of Women Voters. She found herself sitting next to Bill Browning, who was the head of the environmental education (EE) program with the Ann Arbor public schools at that time. She tells me “I told him that I missed going on the field trips with my kids’ classes. And he said, “Why don’t you join us?” I said I didn’t know anything. He said, “We’ll teach you.” And that was what I did and what they did. And it was the most enriching time of my life and I loved every minute of it.” And there were lots of minutes. She continued as a volunteer naturalist with the EE program for many years.
With that history, it is no surprise that after my parents made the move to Green Acres in 1985, the farm became a frequent site for EE field trips. Over the years, elementary school students from the Ann Arbor public schools have come to Green Acres, and with help from their EE teachers and volunteer naturalists, including my mom, have explored the natural environment and learned about habitats, pond life, plant and animal interactions and much more. Lessons came both from what they could find on guided walks, as well as by exploring the assortment of nature’s “treasures” my mom collected over the years to share with the kids.
When my parents made their transition to a condo, and my husband and I took over the farm, it made perfect sense to honor my mom’s passion for the EE program and continue offering Green Acres as a site for those field trips. And of course, given all the years my mother shared with the program, Dave Szczygiel and Coert Ambrosino, it’s currently leaders, invited me to make it a family tradition, and become a volunteer naturalist. Writing my mom’s story here, I truly had to laugh, because I am sure I said exactly the same thing to them that she said to Bill Browning 48 years ago. And they answered just as Bill Browning did. I began my education by joining the naturalists as they guided the kids through the woods, fields and wetlands of the farm. With a love for teaching and for nature, the naturalists helped the kids see and understand the cycles of life that surround us, the way plants and animals support each other, and what we can learn from all of them, to guide our own actions in life. What a gift they give by offering a new perspective on these things that we too often pass by without a thought for the wonder of it all. And how fulfilling to see the kids light up with excitement with what they find and learn. It is sure easy to see why my mom loved it so much!
Of course COVID changed my education trajectory, imposing a one and a half year hiatus on those field trips. But bit by bit, with stops and starts imposed by COVID, the classes are coming back, and it is wonderful to have the kids visiting again. This week I was able to join a class of 5th graders for a “Winter Survival” field trip. For this field trip the students work together as small teams to gather kindling and wood, and start a fire using only one manmade resource, a match. They then use their fires to cook their lunch. Prior to COVID the team work started long before the kids arrived, as each team planned their meal, decided what they needed to prepare it and worked out who would bring what to make it all happen. But for now the lunches are prepared and individually wrapped in foil prior to the trip by the school’s food service provider. It is sad to see the kids lose that planning part, but until sharing food can be done safely, it has to be. And the kids still have a great time!
Although my mom tells me she usually didn’t help with winter survival (there really wasn’t an opportunity there for her to do what she truly loved with the kids, which was to share her wonder at the plants, insects and wild animals making their homes at Green Acres), it is the perfect place for a “naturalist in training” like me to help out. I don’t really need to know anything other than how to safely start a fire (which I am proud to say I was able to learn pretty quickly from the real naturalists), and that it isn’t a good idea to burn poison ivy! When the kids arrive, they gather for a fire starting demonstration, after which the teams head out into the woods and fields near their camp sites to find what they will need to build their own fires. When I am with them, I can’t help but smile when I see how amazingly enthusiastic and startlingly inefficient they are. It is so much fun to work with them, as they learn so many little lessons beyond starting a fire, such as about team work, delegating responsibilities, the risks of starting before they are really ready, the challenge of assessing when they are ready and the patience to deal with failing at what they wanted to do and having to try again. All are things that will serve them well in the further growing up they have ahead of them
The kids finish the winter survival by learning how to safely put out their fires and then they clean up their campsites. The goal of clean-up is to pack out everything they carried in, including any food scraps. For the clean-up, which obviously is not the most exciting part of their day, the EE team has a contest to keep them motivated. It takes a whole class effort to win. Every fire must be completely out, and not a scrap of food or trash can remain at any camp site. The naturalists do the final inspection. If you ask us, the kids do a darn good job! I personally looked, and I spotted one tiny piece of aluminum foil and one pea. However, my dogs have not been as convinced that the kids found EVERYTHING, because ever since the field trip, whenever we walk past, the dogs abandon the walk to run excitedly among the camp sites, sniffing the ground and munching happily on tidbits that they find. Needless to say, I have suggested to Dave and Coert that from now on the dogs be hired to do final inspections for the clean-up game!