A Formula for Lifelong Environmental Stewardship - Take 222 Hikes and Call Me in Forty Years

By Sandi Funke, Education Director

Pepperwood's Budding Biologists summer camp
 (photo by Sandi Funke)

Like many parents, I want my child to grow up and have a deep respect for this place we call home. Yet with the pressures of work, friends and family, it is sometimes hard to know what parenting technique is most effective at conveying my value of environmental stewardship. As a child, we did not hike or camp, yet I romped through the neighborhood playing army and as teen flitted in the forests of central Michigan “acting out” roles as fearies and townsfolk at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. Just how important were these play sessions? Was it those or the countless episodes of NOVA that led me to who I am today?

Is getting kids outdoors the answer to creating nature stewards?

In his breakthrough book Last Child in the Woods - Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder (2005), Richard Louv links the time young people spend in nature with a myriad of developmental benefits. In the chapter entitled Where Will Future Stewards of Nature Come From? he points out, “Attachment to land is not only good for the child, it is good for the land.” He goes on to explain, “if we are going to save environmentalism and the environment, we must also save an endangered indicator species: the child in nature.”

Louv based his book on research from a variety of sources. In chapter 14 of Influencing Conservation Action - What Research Says about Environmental Literacy, Behavior, and Conservation Results (2013), author Dr. Nicole Ardoin of Stanford University begs the question of whether connecting kids to nature has an impact on conservation over the long term. She explains:

“…there is evidence to suggest that kids’ nature experiences can affect behavior over

the long term. For example, a number of studies have explored ‘significant life experiences.’ This research examines the important influences in the lives of environmental professionals, looking for factors that might have encouraged their environmental commitment. This body of work has consistently revealed that time spent in natural settings – and in particular with a caring adult or mentor who encourages respect and appreciation for nature – often provides a critical formative influence in the development of environmental professionals’ lives.”

Pepperwood's Budding Biologists summer camp
 (photo by Sandi Funke)

Direct research investigating “significant life experiences” and their affiliation with environmentally responsible behavior investigates these assertions. Researchers Wells and Lekies (2006) interviewed 2,000 demographically representative American adults living in urban areas. They asked participants questions about their childhood nature experiences and their current attitudes and behaviors related to the environment. They found that childhood participation in nature such as hiking or playing in the woods has a positive relationship to environmental behaviors. 

Chalwa (1999) conducted interviews with 56 environmentalists both in Kentucky and Norway to determine the source of their environmental commitment. Upon interviewing these environmentalists, the leading explanation given for commitment was again experience of natural areas in childhood. Researchers Palmer, Suggate, Bajd, and Hart (1999) constructed autobiographical narratives with 1,200 environmentally active individuals in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. They found that again childhood time in nature was a very salient factor.

Students from Calistoga Elementary School participating in
Pepperwood's SCENIQ program (photo by Sandi Funke)

So what is a mom, dad, grandparent, aunt, or uncle to do that does not yet know how or where to hike with kids? Starting this fall, Pepperwood will be launching a new initiative: Family Fun al Fresco - Diversión familiar al aire libre. This program will give diverse families more access to Pepperwood. We will continue to offer family classes and overnights as well as new bilingual family hikes. In the meantime, we are very lucky in Sonoma County to have access to a myriad of Regional Parks and folks like Landpaths that partner with Pepperwood to link families with nature. So, if you want to raise the next great environmental writer, scientist, policy maker, or even avid composter get those kids outdoors and do it often!

Upstream Investments & Pepperwood - A Winning Partnership

By Sandi Funke, Education Director

Students from Calistoga Elementary School
visit Pepperwood. Photo by Sandi Funke.

Pepperwood year-long environmental education program for area elementary schools, SCENIQ (Students Conducting Environmental Inquiry), has recently qualified for Sonoma County's Upstream Investments Portfolio at the Tier Three level for Innovative Practices. The Portfolio of Model Upstream Programs is a collection of local evidence-based programs proven to help eliminate poverty in Sonoma County and ensure equal opportunity for quality education. Programs included in the Portfolio have completed a rigorous application and review process to demonstrate a solid basis in research and a commitment to program evaluation. Pepperwood Foundation’s SCENIQ program is an innovative conservation program based on best practices that promotes lifelong environmental stewardship.

 “SCENIQ is a true Upstream success story," said Joni Thacher, Training and Technical Assistance Manger for Upstream Investments. "Pepperwood has demonstrated a remarkable commitment to designing and implementing a program with a solid research base and a commitment to demonstrating learning outcomes. Through the SCENIQ program, Pepperwood provides youth with opportunities for hands on science experiences. The outdoor education program incorporates common core standards while teaching students about outdoor safety and conservation. Upstream Investments applauds their efforts to provide high quality educational experiences to the youth in Sonoma County.” 

The mission of Upstream Investments is to promote effective and prevention-focused approaches that will ultimately uproot poverty and reduce monetary and societal costs to our community. The Portfolio of Model Upstream Programs is a collection of evidence-informed programs. Programs undergo a rigorous, iterative process to join the portfolio. Programs are listed as Tier 1, 2, or 3 depending on where they are in the process and the type of program. Pepperwood’s application to Upstream Investments engaged the expertise of not only Pepperwood staff but our Education Advisory Committee as well as technical advisers from Upstream. Funders are using the portfolio to guide their investments.

Students from San Miguel Elementary School explore nature artifacts
during a visit by Pepperwood educators. Photo by Sandi Funke.

“I am very excited that the SCENIQ program from Pepperwood has been included in the Upstream Investments Portfolio. For many of my students, their participation in the SCENIQ program is their first and most extensive foray into the natural world,” said Doug Day, 5^th grade teacher at San Miguel Elementary School in Santa Rosa.

Pepperwood’s SCENIQ program provides the community’s diverse youth and their families with the knowledge, motivation, and skills to get outside and enjoy exploring nature, not just during their visit to Pepperwood, but over their lifetimes. Educators pique students’ curiosity and excitement and inspire a long-lasting appreciation for the natural world. This is accomplished by teaching schoolchildren fun, hands-on, nature observation skills they can apply in their communities and having them practice these skills at Pepperwood.

Students from Hidden Valley Elementary School
hike at Pepperwood. Photo by Sandi Funke.

SCENIQ includes a four-hour hands-on, science-based field trip in the fall, a one-hour classroom lesson in the winter, supplementary teacher-directed lesson plans, and a follow up four-hour field trip in the spring. The program utilizes bilingual English-Spanish nature journals customized for each grade level with illustrations of local plants and animals by artist John Muir Laws. Over 800 students participate in SCENIQ each year from schools in Santa Rosa, Calistoga, and Healdsburg. Pepperwood prioritizes serving classes from Title One schools and provides bus transportation scholarships to enable their participation.

Interested in supporting Pepperwood's SCENIQ program? Click here to make a donation.

Five Fun Things to Do with a Kid Along the Trail This Summer

By Sandi Funke, Education Director

Now that summer is underway, you may be looking for ways to explore the outdoors with a young person. Hiking can be a lot of fun in and of itself, but when little legs get tired or attention wanes I wanted to share a few ideas of activities you can do on the trail to deepen observational skills and have fun! These are amusing distractions for kids ages three and up but don’t be surprised if older kids will have fun participating too!

1. Build a Faerie House

Our educator Jesse Robinson recently introduced this fun activity simply by starting his own creation. During a break in our Budding Biologists summer camp, Jesse sat down in a large trail clearing and began gathering small sticks and rocks. He then began carefully piling the sticks in a hexagonal shape. The campers asked what he was doing and he explained, “building a faerie house,” and that the campers could build houses too. They immediately got to work gathering sticks, pines cones, rocks, and moss as construction began. Little mystical cottages began to spring up, some with little rooms one even had a basement. Once the group was satisfied with their work, they took a quick tour of the “neighborhood” and left the houses for their future Lilliputian inhabitants.

2. Rainbow Walk

I rediscovered this activity one day while trekking back to our car in Golden Gate Park after a long day of exploration at the California Academy of Sciences. My son, then five years old, was pretty tired and was walking very slowly. I looked around and challenged him to see if he could find anything that was red, and then orange, and then yellow, etc. The idea of the activity is to find leaves, flowers, bark, non-living things - anything along the trail that correlates with each color of the rainbow. This activity can be quite engrossing but be warned the color indigo can be tough to find and controversial. What color is indigo anyways?

3. Shapes Walk

The Shapes Walk is adapted from a lesson in the Project Learning Tree science curriculum. It’s basically the same idea as the Rainbow Walk. Instead of looking for colors, you look for shapes. You can cut out and bring along shapes to use to compare to the shapes of leaves and rocks or just wing it. Either way it’s really fun.

4. Make a Collection

As evidenced by his pockets as well as his little travel bag Velcro-strapped onto his bicycle, my son, like most kids, loves to collect! Some of his favorites include sticks, acorns, rocks, buckeyes, and more sticks. Recently we went beach combing and took home a few choice (uninhabited) sea stars. Just be sure where you are exploring allows collecting and that your collecting activities will not unduly impact the ecosystem. Taking one shell when there are thousands is probably okay, but not so much if there are only a few. A hermit crab may need that shell for a home. Once you have multiples, lay out your collection and have your young scientist compare and contrast what they have found.

5. Make up a Crazy Nature Story

This can be quite entertaining especially if you can make your story relevant to what you are experiencing on your adventure. My son and I have an ongoing saga about two adventuresome ducks - Duckling and Quackers. Our stories always start with, “Once upon a time Duckling and Quackers…” We then take turns adding pieces to the story weaving a new adventure every time. If you’re exploring the forest, start a story about Fred the Fox. At the beach? How about Carlos the Crab? Just use what’s around you and don’t be afraid of being silly!

2013 Mayacamas Christmas Bird Count for Kids

By Sandi Funke, Education Director

In the spirit of the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count which is celebrating its 114^th year, Pepperwood, along with Sonomabirding, Safari West, and the Petrified Forest joined forces to launch the Mayacamas Christmas Bird Count for Kids. The count was held on the chilly morning of Saturday, December 7^th, 2013. The purpose of the event was to get young people out engaging with our local environment in a meaningful way while also having fun. The data that was generated will help scientists answer questions critical to the conservation of local bird species.

Our young scientists, expert birders from the community, and staff gathered at Safari West early that Saturday morning. The youngsters ages 7 to 17 and their families started the day at “Binocular Bootcamp” with Tom Rusert and Darren Peterie, founders of the Christmas Bird Count for Kids. Outside the Café at Safari West participants learned the basics of how to operate binoculars as well as how to spot birds using strategically placed signs with laminated pictures of birds . They learned how and where to look for birds!

After learning about binoculars it was time to head out.  The chilled but excited group formed five teams and ventured forth to survey woodland, forest, chaparral, pond, and meadow habitats at Safari West, Pepperwood, and the Petrified Forest. Once reaching their sites, they spent 90 minutes in the field identifying and counting birds. The teams then returned to Safari West. Pepperwood staff and the participants tabulated the results at a celebration lunch. After the tabulation, the teams of young people named the “Juncos, Bald Eagles, American Coots, Living Dodos, and Stellar Juncos” presented their results to the entire group. Afterwards participants enjoyed a visit with an American kestrel and a great horned owl brought over by The Bird Rescue Center of Sonoma County. Safari West staff then ended the event with a walking tour of Safari West where folks could go to meet birds from other parts of the world.

The teams of young people, staff, and seasoned area birders did a fantastic job on this bitterly cold morning getting out and counting our local birds. The teams counted 54 species and over 900 individual birds. Some of the biggest groups included a murder of crows, several hosts of sparrows, and a paddling of mallards numbering 40! Several unusual birds were spotted including an accipiter, two northern harriers, and a purple finch. Some of the participants included Pepperwood’s TeenNat interns, siblings Ben and Emma Hoffman. Speaking about the experience Ben shared, “We both enjoyed ourselves quite a lot. It was pretty humbling to hear this one particular bird watcher name off birds as they flitted by. On the whole a very interesting experience and nice to get back with the TeenNaters that were able to come.” Ben’s favorite bird was a red tailed hawk that was in a tree about 30 feet away from the group.

Lisa Hug, one of our expert birders shared her thoughts about the experience, “The kids I had were a little older - mostly teens. They were fantastic. I was impressed with how they took charge of the situation and worked together on things. They passed the clipboard around by themselves and planned their presentation totally on their own. They were very ‘into’ the birds and appreciated them even though they were very cold.”

The data the teams collected is being uploaded to the eBird database. eBird is a real-time, online checklist program. Launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, eBird’s goal is to maximize the vast number of bird observations made each year by bird watchers. It is amassing one of the largest and fastest growing biodiversity data resources in existence. For example in  just one month in 2012 over 3.1 million observations were uploaded. As explained on the eBird site, “When you submit a checklist to eBird, you make your observations available to the global community of researchers, educators, conservationists, birders and anyone else with an interest in birds.” Dozens of scientific publications have used the eBird data to further our understanding of the biodiversity of the planet!

The Mayacamas Christmas Bird Count for Kids was a collaborative effort between Pepperwood, Sonomabirding, Safari West, and the Petrified Forest. WE enjoyed getting to know each other more and brining this valuable experience to our community’s young people. We hope to make it an annual event so stay tuned next December for our 2^nd annual bird count!

 Special thanks to Steve Murdock for sharing his wonderful photographs of the event!