{"id":11693,"date":"2024-01-12T10:00:58","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T15:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=11693"},"modified":"2024-01-12T10:03:20","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T15:03:20","slug":"students-explore-nature-as-part-of-journaling-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/students-explore-nature-as-part-of-journaling-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Students explore nature as part of journaling project"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Blush Belthrop, left, and Nathanael Viel looked at their journals before heading out to draw pictures and write about animals and nature at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation\u2019s Brock Environmental Center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Seatack Elementary fourth-grader Jillian Kimotho was excited when a snail peeked out of its shell during a nature walk as part of a field trip to the Brock Environmental Center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

– By Cyndi Butler Focke<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Seatack Elementary fourth graders marched with pen and journal toward the Lynnhaven River on a sunny day. Dacia Walker found a snail shell and showed one of the high school guides.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you sing to them, they sometimes come out of their shell,\u201d said Environmental Studies Program senior Rory Roberts. Dacia sang a few notes, and sure enough a snail peaked out. She examined the tiny sea creature closely and drew a picture in her journal.<\/p>\n

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation\u2019s Brock Environmental Center, situated on 118 acres of water, marshlands, and forest at Pleasure House Point, hosted the field trip.<\/p>\n

The visit was part of the Nature Journals project.<\/p>\n

Approximately 100 high school junior and seniors are part of the VBCPS Environmental Studies Program at the Brock Center. Six seniors in the program are leading the journaling collaboration as part of an internship with the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and VBCPS.<\/p>\n

Environmental Studies Program Coordinator Chris Freeman welcomed the visitors to the Brock Center\u2019s energy-efficient, environmentally smart building. \u201cThis is the 10th<\/sup> living building in the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Environmental Studies Program coordinator Chris Freeman welcomed Seatack Elementary fourth-graders to the Brock Environmental Center for a field trip as part of their nature journals project.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The center receives 100% of its energy from renewable energy sources, with 15-kilowatt wind turbines and 168 solar panels. Freeman showed students the filtration system that turns rainwater into drinking water and told them the floor was originally a gym floor.<\/p>\n

Also, some of the walls were made from school bleachers, and the glass fish hanging from the ceiling were left over from a hospital display. \u201cReuse, reduce and recycle,\u201d Freeman said.<\/p>\n

Students were ready to explore the environment and start journaling, thanks to classroom preparation by teachers and some special guests.<\/p>\n

Environmental Studies Program interns shared observation strategies. Seatack art teacher Maggie Smith and a Virginia Beach Friends School art instructor guided students through the journal-making process.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Environmental Studies student Devin Roebuck played a guessing game about organisms Seatack Elementary students might find in the Pleasure House Point area. Matthew Perry asked questions about a gray fox before revealing the animal\u2019s picture.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Blush Belthrop said she had fun making her journal.\u00a0 \u201cWe got to use leaves and lavender plants that smelled really good.\u201d She outlined the leaves on the journal cover and used them as sponges to apply paint. The paper inside was folded in an accordion-like style.<\/p>\n

The field trip began with fun guessing games to learn about organisms they could possibly see during their exploration of the Pleasure House Point area.<\/p>\n

Ciyahna Waul held a picture of a brown pelican behind her back, while others asked questions, including \u201cIs it green?\u201d and \u201cIs it a bird?\u201d to solve the mystery.\u00a0 Devin Roebuck, an Environmental Studies Program junior, told them it\u2019s his favorite animal in the watershed. \u201cHere\u2019s a fun fact,\u201d he said. \u201cTheir throats can hold three times the amount of food that their stomachs can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then they headed out on the trails. Blush was curious about river otters, and Lauren Mayo asked a good question. \u201cHave you seen any snakes here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Students in the VBCPS Environmental Studies Program led Seatack fourth graders on a nature walk at the Brock Environmental Center as part of their Nature Journals project.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cornelius Carter said being out in nature was cool. \u201cI like it because there\u2019s a lot of scenery here and it\u2019s not like a classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

They journaled along the river\u2019s edge and drew pictures of animals and the beautiful surroundings.<\/p>\n

Indoors featured a variety of activities. They moved their hands atop an augmented reality sandbox and learned how rain affects watersheds and changes landscapes. Many pedaled a stationary bike and watched it power up a cell phone.<\/p>\n

They looked at zooplankton and jellyfish under a microscope and discussed how old shipwrecks affect the ocean. Blush said a shipwreck would be good because \u201cit could give animals a habitat,\u201d but also not good because the water would get dirty.<\/p>\n

Seatack gifted resource teacher Marie Culver said the nature journaling project provides positive experiences with nature and integrates into all areas of the curriculum.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe students\u2019 exciting reactions to the living indoor and outdoor classrooms was the best part of the day,\u201d she said. \u201cI was so thrilled to see all of the moving pieces come together.\u201d<\/p>\n

More to come:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Environmental Studies Program student Rory Roberts, left, helped guide Lyric Lynch and fellow Seatack Elementary fourth-graders on a field trip to the Brock Environmental Center as part of their Nature Journals project.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Students from Seatack Elementary \u2013 An Achievable Dream Academy \u2013 will do more nature observing and journaling during an upcoming visit to Bay Back National Wildlife Refuge. Eventually their journals will be displayed in pop-up exhibitions through the community and the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (virginiamoca.org)<\/a> in concert with \u201cMark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature\u2019s Underworld.\u201d The exhibit opens in February 2024 and explores humanity\u2019s strained relationship with the environment.<\/p>\n

The Nature Journals project is a precursor for an outdoor sculpture project with the same students in school year 2024-25. Seatack students will research, design and create an environmentally conscious public art installation for the museum grounds, guided by a teaching artist, museum staff and their teachers.<\/p>\n

Visit VBschools.com <\/a>for more information about the VBCPS Environmental Studies Program.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

– By Cyndi Butler Focke Seatack Elementary fourth graders marched with pen and journal toward the Lynnhaven River on a sunny day. Dacia Walker found a snail shell and showed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":11695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11693"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12069,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11693\/revisions\/12069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}