Mark Meckes
15th February 2001, 06:07 PM
Carole and I recently attended, and presented a bamboo display at a symposium in Austin Texas, called 'Get Growing and Keep Going!'.
The purpose of this symposium was “to bring teachers and recreation leaders together with local organizations involved in youth gardens and nature education for a day of sharing and inspiration”.
A full day of worshops, panel discussions and exhibitions was presented by organizers who did an excellent job of preparing for this event.
The high school auditorium was to full capacity.
A majority of those who attended were women, clearly demonstrating the concern and role of women in nature education.
Workshops and panel discussions included:
- Gathering Community Support
- Integrating Garden Activities Into Curriculum
- Creating a Garden From Scratch
- Finding Resources
Speakers provided wonderful examples of how they established wildflower and vegetable gardening around schools, parks, and how they were able to revitalize delapidated sites.
Most important was how their students, many from low-income communities and 'concrete jungles', gained a tremendous pride in their
efforts and a great respect for nature.
It was also clearly demonstrated how these hands-on, minds-on activities could be applied to every subject a teacher is required to teach.
The reason we especially wanted to attend this symposium was to see if the aspect of ‘growing your own craft supplies ‘ had been incorporated into these activities,and whether activities handbooks had been developed for this purpose.
Of special interest to us was the USE OF BAMBOO in educational activities.
When the opportunity arose to ask these questions, the reaction was at first, a silence.
It was obvious that, to this audience, growing craft supplies and utilizing bamboo had not yet been included as part of the nature/ gardening - education experience.
However as the day progressed, many teachers approached us, and visited our booth, wanting to know of ways that they could integrate bamboo and other craft plants into their activities.
Including plant use in educational activities can help us to understand that our relationship with our natural world involves stewardship, that there’s a limit to what we can take, and that we also have to give in return.
Because of the extra emphasis that educators are putting towards issues about the relationship with our environment, this is an excellent opportunity to work with educational institutions by providing them with information on how bamboo can be utilized in their curriculums.
The reason that our efforts to assist are so important is because most educators know very litle about bamboo.
Bamboo was rarely ever mentioned in educational text books, so teachers don't have much information that they can refer to, for developing lesson plans.
HERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY!!!
We will be following up on many opportunities and requests for assistance as a result of this event.
Let us know if you would like to know more, or have any ideas or experiences in utilizing bamboo crafts in educational activities.
The purpose of this symposium was “to bring teachers and recreation leaders together with local organizations involved in youth gardens and nature education for a day of sharing and inspiration”.
A full day of worshops, panel discussions and exhibitions was presented by organizers who did an excellent job of preparing for this event.
The high school auditorium was to full capacity.
A majority of those who attended were women, clearly demonstrating the concern and role of women in nature education.
Workshops and panel discussions included:
- Gathering Community Support
- Integrating Garden Activities Into Curriculum
- Creating a Garden From Scratch
- Finding Resources
Speakers provided wonderful examples of how they established wildflower and vegetable gardening around schools, parks, and how they were able to revitalize delapidated sites.
Most important was how their students, many from low-income communities and 'concrete jungles', gained a tremendous pride in their
efforts and a great respect for nature.
It was also clearly demonstrated how these hands-on, minds-on activities could be applied to every subject a teacher is required to teach.
The reason we especially wanted to attend this symposium was to see if the aspect of ‘growing your own craft supplies ‘ had been incorporated into these activities,and whether activities handbooks had been developed for this purpose.
Of special interest to us was the USE OF BAMBOO in educational activities.
When the opportunity arose to ask these questions, the reaction was at first, a silence.
It was obvious that, to this audience, growing craft supplies and utilizing bamboo had not yet been included as part of the nature/ gardening - education experience.
However as the day progressed, many teachers approached us, and visited our booth, wanting to know of ways that they could integrate bamboo and other craft plants into their activities.
Including plant use in educational activities can help us to understand that our relationship with our natural world involves stewardship, that there’s a limit to what we can take, and that we also have to give in return.
Because of the extra emphasis that educators are putting towards issues about the relationship with our environment, this is an excellent opportunity to work with educational institutions by providing them with information on how bamboo can be utilized in their curriculums.
The reason that our efforts to assist are so important is because most educators know very litle about bamboo.
Bamboo was rarely ever mentioned in educational text books, so teachers don't have much information that they can refer to, for developing lesson plans.
HERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY!!!
We will be following up on many opportunities and requests for assistance as a result of this event.
Let us know if you would like to know more, or have any ideas or experiences in utilizing bamboo crafts in educational activities.