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Fourth-graders visit ‘outdoor classroom’
By Justin Goble
School days normally don’t involve petting snakes or hunting for crawdads in a creek.
But Fairview fourth-graders got such a day during a trip to Balsam Mountain Preserve to take part in its school outreach program last week. Run by naturalists Blair Ogburn and Michael Skinner, the program gives students to a hands-on approach to both aquatic and woodland ecology.
“This land is what we use as our outdoor classroom,” Ogburn said. “We feel that it is important to get students outdoors to become aware of natural communities and to increase awareness and stewardship of the land.”
Fairview Elementary fourth-grader Haley Shook examines a crayfish she found in Sugarloaf Creek (top photo) as Cory Fisher, left in lower photo, and Brandon Deitz check live animal traps at Balsam Mountain Preserve with naturalist Michael Skinner. The students took part in the preserve’s school outreach program last week, during which they learned about aquatic and woodland ecology. According to Balsam naturalist Blair Ogburn, the program allows students to get hands-on experience with nature, which is something they can’t do in a classroom. “Our goal here is to promote stewardship and awareness of the natural world around us,” Ogburn said. Programs are offered for students from kindergarten to 12th grade. For more information, call the preserve at 631-1061. – Herald photos by Justin Goble.
Initially, the program targeted fourth-graders because their science curriculum deals with the interactions between animals and their surroundings. However, Ogburn said students of all ages could learn something from spending time at the preserve.
“Now we’re trying to include more classes,” Ogburn said. “We sent out flyers to all the schools in Jackson and Haywood counties. We told teachers they could bring their classes here and make nature their classroom, or we could come to their school. We deal a lot with fourth-graders since the teachers have been here before. But we’re open to kindergarten through 12th grade.”
Though it is opening up to other students, the program still applies to what the fourth-graders are learning in the classroom, said Fairview teacher Marcia Hodgin.
“The program fits so well with the fourth-grade curriculum,” Hodgin said. “We deal a lot with animals. We study both vertebrates and invertebrates in class. We have a stream at school and we look at the animals in it, but the kids don’t get in it like they do here.”
As part of the day’s activities, students searched Sugarloaf Creek for various forms of aquatic life. Ogburn said this was a good way to look at the status of that particular ecosystem.
“We’re trying to see if the stream is healthy,” Ogburn said. “There’s an easy way you can do that. You can take a sample of the stream and count the critters in there.”
For more than 45 minutes, students used their hands and nets to collect various water dwellers, such as horseflies, salamanders and crayfish. Each animal was displayed and discussed by Ogburn, who said the stream was indeed healthy, since pollutants would have killed much of the food that allows animals to survive.
Another part of the program took students on a hike throughout Balsam’s forest, where the students, led by Skinner, checked live animal traps. Skinner also discussed how woodland creatures survive in their surroundings.
Skinner said a big reason he liked having students come to the preserve was that they often see something that makes them look at nature in a different light.
“I think classroom teaching has its place, and we certainly appreciate the people who dedicate their hearts and their lives to that,” Skinner said. “What we do here is get the kids out of the classroom and into nature. It helps to change their perspective.”
One way Skinner goes about changing kids’ perspectives on nature is introducing them to animals they may be afraid of. During the nature hike, Skinner showed the class a captured black snake, an animal that he called “misunderstood.”
“People fear the things they don’t quite understand,” Skinner said. “But snakes are a crucial part of the environment. They eat a lot of rats and other animals that can cause diseases, and that’s a great reason to have them around.”
Doing things like this allows kids to relate to nature in ways they may not have before, Skinner said.
“It’s an opportunity for us to present a side where people can develop an empathy for nature,” Skinner said. “We as a society are headed farther and farther away from the natural world. This is just a way to get them involved in nature.”
The students said they enjoyed the chance as well, since it allows them to experience things they wouldn’t in the classroom.
“This is more fun than sitting in my classroom, and I’m learning something too,” said Cory Richards.
“It’s fun, but it’s dirty,” said Jessica Hall. “We get to learn new stuff and see different animals. I found a newt, but it got away.”
It was clear that the kids weren’t the only ones enjoying themselves during last week’s program. Ogburn said she liked doing things with students because she often got to see their attitudes about animals and nature change during the short time they spend at the preserve.
“I do a lot of things at the preserve, but taking classes out is my favorite,” Ogburn said. “The kids start out nervous, but their faces light up when they get to interact with the critters. That’s really rewarding to me.”
“This is a wonderful experience,” Hodgin said. “Blair has been doing classes at school, and this is the culmination of that. The variety of plants and animals here is amazing and it’s great for the kids to experience it. It’s something the students will remember. We’ve done this for the past two years, and we’ll hopefully continue to do it as long as Michael and Blair are here.”
As for the future of the program, Ogburn said she hopes it would grow and include even more students. Right now, she said her biggest concern was just getting people to the preserve.
“We’re definitely hoping that this program expands,” Ogburn said. “The thing we really want is for people to book programs. We like to have groups of about 10 at a time. That way, we have a good student/teacher ratio.”
For more information about the programs, call the preserve at 631-1061.
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