All Categories - Science Adventure Program

Time Spent in Nature has Far-reaching Impacts

8/30/2018

Dr. Stephen R. Kellert of Yale University states, "Play in nature, particularly during the critical period of middle childhood, appears to be an especially important time for developing the capacities for creativity, problem-solving, and emotional and intellectual development."

Dr. Louise Chawla (Journal of Environmental Education, 1998, 1999) found that positive, direct experience in the out-of-doors and being taken outdoors by someone close to the child—a parent, grand parent, or other trusted guardian—are the two most significant factors that contribute to individuals choosing to take action to benefit the environment when they are adults. Dr. Chawla states, "The very fact that a parent or grandparent chose to take the child with them to a place where they themselves found fascination and pleasure, to share what engaged them there, suggests not only care for the natural world, but, equally, care for the child."

The American Institutes for Research® found that at-risk students who experienced a weeklong residential outdoor education program experienced a 27% increase in measured mastery of science concepts, enhanced cooperation and conflict resolution skills, gains in self-esteem, gains in positive environmental behavior, and gains in problem-solving, motivation to learn, and classroom behavior over students who had not had the outdoor learning experience.

The "California Student Assessment Project" (2000) found that students in environment-based instructional programs score as well or better on standardized measures in four basic subject areas—reading, math, language and spelling. The environment-based programs also foster cooperative learning and civic responsibility, using the natural characteristics of the school grounds and local community as the foundational framework for the curricula.

Dr.s Kellert and Derr (Yale, 1998) conducted the most comprehensive research to date on the effects of wilderness-based outdoor education for teenage students. The majority of respondents found the outdoor experience to be "one of the best in their life" and participants reported positive effects on their personal, intellectual, and, in some cases, spiritual development. Pronounced results were found in enhanced self-esteem, self-confidence, independence, autonomy and initiative. These results persisted through many years.

Adventures in Roadkill

1/15/2016

In Boulder we believe in doing good, for the environment, for our bodies, for others. Right? We believe in sustainability, we believe in “reduce, reuse, and recycle,” we believe in eating clean food, food that doesn’t suffer for our benefit. Right?

Lately, life has been providing me many opportunities to put my own beliefs and the credo which I feel surrounds me, to the test.

It was Friday morning, I had just dropped the kids at school and was heading home to catch up with paperwork, clean up the house, and get ready to leave for the weekend. I was driving along Baseline, near 30th, and something caught my eye. A large furry animal lying on the side of the road. I looked closer. Antlers! A male deer had apparently been hit by a car. A landscape crew was starting to gather around the animal.
I continued driving, but immediately my mind started to spin, to nag at me with questions and debate, “what will happen to that deer? probably get dragged off unceremoniously and put in a landfill. it’s so beautiful. i wish my students could see it. what if it just got hit and the meat is still good? at least coyotes should be able to eat it. i hope it didn’t suffer. how can you just leave it there? what would i do with it? it’s right on a main road. is it legal? could i get in trouble? could i get it to a place where it can finish its cycle of life? it’s too heavy. maybe the landscapers could help me. you’re crazy, just go home and do your work. why are you always making things harder than they need to be? what are you trying to prove? what if you got in trouble? front page headlines, fines, embarrassment. how can you let it go to waste? how can you choose mundane house and work tasks over a new life experience and learning?”

By the time I got home, I knew I had to go back. I was nervous and my mind was still nagging at me but my body was moving around, gathering a cooler, tarp, hunting knife, and saw. I texted my husband to get his opinion, since he would also be affected if I got caught. "you could go to jail. who would pick up the kids? who would take over your classes?" By the time his response came back, I was already in it and had forgotten about my phone.

I arrived and surveyed the scene. The landscapers had moved the deer off the road, but they were not nearby, as I could hear blowers and mowers faintly humming in the distance. There was also no one home to help. I looked at the deer and watched the cars driving by. To my surprise, not one driver in ten or so cars, even on the same side of the road, looked over to see me or the deer.

I suddenly felt very sad, looking at the beautiful young buck in the prime of his life, imagining his confusion as he started across the street and was struck by this giant flying hunk of metal. I got down close to his face and noticed his perfect black nose, still moist, his long lashes and still shiny big brown eyes, his giant soft ears with their perfect shading for camouflage and seashell-pink insides. In his mouth, his tongue was slightly curled around a leaf he had just plucked but hadn't had time to eat.

All I could think of was, "I'm sorry." Even as the feeling overtook me, I felt overwhelmed by its inadequacy and all the things I was actually apologizing for. The taking of land and building of fences that have blocked animals movements in search of food and safety, the roads that now spider web across even the most wild places, and the deadly cars that no amount of experience can prepare animals that have evolved to survive very different predators.

I didn't want this animal's life and death to be in vain. At the very least I could make sure the deer's body benefitted other wildlife. I could use the deer's head to teach students about how muscles, tendons, ligaments and bone are joined, how the lens and optic nerve are like a camera that sends images to the brain, and how all of the sense organs, from the ears and eyes to the nose, tongue and whiskers, are beautifully adapted for survival.

While I was thinking these thoughts and feeling strongly about what I should do, I also realized that others might not see it the same way, as they drove by and saw me bending over the deer's body. I didn't think I could lift the whole deer, but I could hardly cut it up right there on the main road. It's taken me a long time and a lot of intentional effort to become comfortable with raising and killing the few animals I have for food, and I still have feelings of guilt and nausea at ending a life and turning it into meat. When I started raising animals for food a few years ago, I thought I'd be eating lots of delicious meat and wouldn't feel guilty because the animals had a good life and a quick death. The reality is, I eat a lot less meat now.

If it's so hard to see the death or blood of an animal that's lived a good life and had a relatively quick death, why do we subject ourselves to so much graphic gore and death in movies, video games and on the news? In Boulder, it's so great that so many people want to know that the animals they eat had good living conditions. I'm not saying everyone needs to raise or hunt their own meat, but why do so many people who eat meat find it so distasteful? I find that even today, even in Boulder, with so much awareness around what and how we eat, that people are still often shocked at the thought that I would be willing to kill and butcher an animal myself rather than subject it to the confusing and potentially painful trip to a processing plant.

I decided to heft the body to see if perhaps I could manage it. Ugh. Heavy. I tried to drag it by the antlers and managed to move it a few feet. Somehow, I decided to just go for it and that’s when my adrenaline kicked in. I backed the car right up to the deer, ran around the back, heaved the body upright by the antlers, leaned it against the bumper, then picked up the rear and with all my might, heaved the whole body into the back and slammed the rear door closed. Before I knew it, I was back in the driver’s seat. I couldn’t believe how fast it all happened, probably 7 or 8 minutes total.

Driving away, the smell of deer poop and gas hit me and I started feeling surreal and guilty, like something out of the movie Fargo. “what did you just do? you have a potentially illegal dead body in your car! this does not look good. you’re going to jail.” Then I got a red light. I looked in my rearview mirror and realized one hoofed leg had sprung up and was sticking up in the rear window, like a kidnapped person trying to signal for help. A middle-aged couple in a Subaru pulled up right behind me and started staring right at the leg. “oh no, don’t talk about it, don’t point. why aren’t you saying anything, don’t you see that deer leg? maybe they’ll think it’s a Christmas yard sculpture or something. c’mon light!” Finally the light changed and I drove on slowly, carefully, not wanting to attract any attention. I looked down at my speedometer and realized I was going 30 in a 50 and cars were bunching up behind me. “so this is how criminals get caught,” I thought. I turned onto my street and was relieved that the Subaru kept going.

I got home and must have still been running on adrenaline, because in a flash I had that deer out of the car and in the far back of the yard by the creek and then had the head and meat off and had dragged the rest of the still incredibly heavy body across the freezing, waist-high creek to leave for the coyotes. Once I had everything (including myself) cleaned up and put away, meat wrapped and tucked into the garage freezer along with the head (to dissect with my older students), I sat down and took a deep breath. I suddenly remembered texting my husband and looked at my phone, where I found 5 texts of increasing urgency. “You’re crazy. Don’t do it. You could get in serious trouble. It’s not worth it. Don’t be that crazy woman people will be talking about. Imagine what this could do to your family. DON’T DO IT!” I sent him a text apologizing that I’d been away from my phone and attached a picture of the deer’s head in the cooler.

The rest of that day, I felt a little sick to my stomach and didn’t eat much, especially not meat. I thought, “Maybe I’ll finally become a vegetarian.” But the next day, my curiosity, and love of meat, got the better of me. I pulled out one of the back straps (the long round muscles that run along the spine, the best meat, where filet mignon steaks come from) and cut off a few thin pieces. I put some butter in a cast iron pan, sprinkled some truffle-flavored salt on top and seared the pieces briefly. Fully prepared for the meat to taste bad, I took a tiny taste and then nearly fell on the floor. My mouth came alive and melted all at the same time. The fine-grained, smooth texture contrasted with the rich, dark, lean taste of the venison. I savored about five more pieces, convinced it was the best thing I’d ever eaten and wishing I had my husband and five best friends there to share it with. I have since shared it with a few people and they agree it is beyond delicious.

And so began my adventures in roadkill. I have since found out that it is completely within my legal rights as a citizen to take advantage of meat from roadkill, I just have to call the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Dept. if I find another one and they will give me permission to take it.

I prepped for a lesson with my older students to dissect the eyes, tongue and trachea of the deer. They loved it and I was amazed at how much you can learn by taking something apart and examining all the parts. A few of the highlights were:
1. realizing that the lens of the eye actually magnified the letters on my watch
2. the inside of a deer's cheek has all these bumpy projections
3. the inside of the sinus was super convoluted and full of blood-infused tissue (for an amazing sense of smell, we guessed), and
4. the students were way more grossed out by the giant engorged tick we found than any of the above-mentioned things!

After a whole lot of work cleaning it, the skull turned out really cool and I think of it as a reminder of the deer's life and the whole experience during which we felt like we got to know the deer.

I also put out my wildlife camera and caught multiple coyotes, ravens, magpies, and a couple of neighborhood dogs, eating the remaining deer meat. I'll admit it, I feel pretty proud of myself.

I’m still not caught up with my paperwork and my house isn’t that clean, but I wouldn’t give up this opportunity for anything. I hope you don't see a deer or elk hit by a car, but if you do, call me ;)

PS if you're wondering how I knew how to even begin to deal with this deer, I have been interested in hunting for quite a few years and had a hunter friend teach me how to gut and skin a deer. This is also my second adventure in roadkill.

Science Adventure Program Lending Library!

11/14/2015

The SAP high schoolers built a little lending library, complete with our mascot, the Tiger Salamander! If you're in the neighborhood (841 Gapter Rd.), bring some books!

"Forest Bathing" has lasting health effects

10/21/2015

The Japanese practice of "Forest Bathing," simply hiking and sitting in a forest with the intention of bathing yourself in the colors, smells, and sounds of the forest has measurable long-lasting health impacts from lower blood pressure to an increase in anti-cancer proteins! For more information and a short video on Forest Bathing, visit www.Shinrin-yoku.org

Science Adventure Program meets Socrates!

10/13/2015

One of the greatest influences in forming the Scientific Method comes from Socrates and his method of Socratic Questioning in which a series of questions are posed to help a person or group to determine their underlying beliefs and the extent of their knowledge.

I have recently trained to lead Socratic Seminars and I've practiced in various grade-level classes at BCSIS (Boulder School for Integrated Studies). Although SAP is generally "out and about," active and hands-on, I am ready to bring the process of Socratic Seminar to the students!

Inspired recently by seeing Jane Goodall speak, I will start with the topic of "How can we, as groups and individual people, best help the environment?" I'm also in communication with CU Professor and animal behaviorist Marc Bekoff about speaking to my group and following with a Socratic Seminar on the topic of "How do we feel about eating meat?"

I will post with updates as we learn how to "disagree agreeably," learn the art of jumping into conversation without raising hands, and treating all members of the group with equal respect by using each other's names and referring directly to a text or experience to further our arguments.

As Always, "Ask Questions, Make Mistakes, and Get Dirty!"

Christina

My New Blog and Students' Stories

12/14/2014

I just started a new blog, "Seeking Miss Adventure Not Miss Perfect," in which my latest post is about my tent (with me in it!) getting stomped on by a mama moose while I was backpacking with students this summer near Allenspark. Little did I know it, but at the same time as I was writing my story, two of my students were writing their own stories about the experience for writing assignments at school. I take it as a huge compliment that their experiences with me in SAP are the ones they choose to write about at school. Below are the two students' stories:

“Camping with Moose” by Matan Edelstein

It started like a normal summer day. I was with a camp at Salamander Pond, Colorado. The camp was called SAP.Standing for Science Adventure Program.The trees were as tall as rocket ships, reaching up to the Heavens.The grass felt like slightly wet like fur blowing in the wind. The sun shining high like a shooting star. We were all camping.

We were setting up our campsite when we saw a moose on the other side of the pond. We rushed our selves and took out a couple of binoculars and looked in to the beautiful lenses. The moose was drinking water by the pond with three calves by its side. We had a dog named Zeke with us. We were worried about Zeke and the moose fighting and all, but we put the thought aside.

After campsite was set up, we went to bed dreaming of the amazing sightings.

We didn’t get much sleep because in the middle of the night, us campers heard a blasting, bang-bang-bang! We heard a strange noise.
It sounded like the noise was getting closer!

Now it was right outside our tent! We looked out and there was a moose! The moose had a rough piercing gaze like x ray-vision, it’s fur so rough and strong. We were all panicked. The ground cackled evilly under the mooses bare feet.

“Bad moose! Go away moose!” we chanted together.

Then it ran away with three calves by it’s side.

Once we got home we told our friends and family that did not come about the amazing adventure. It was amazing! ——--The End

“THE MOOSE TRAMPLE” by Jack de Martino

Three months ago I went camping with my mom and her students. We started at my house and then we got in my mom’s “Blue Fuego” van.

She said, “Off we go to Allenspark.”

We replied, “Okay!”

She started the van and took off.

The ride to Allenspark turned out to be a bumpy road. Then we got there mom my said, “Okay, let’s get out,” and we did.

We got out onto a dusty road and I said, “We have to hike that?!”

My mom said, “Yep.”

We said, “Okay,”and hiked.

We hiked for a mile on the dusty road and on the way to the big, blue, clear, lake, we saw trees, rocks, flowers, and birds. We took a shortcut through an aspen grove and got to the big lake.

I said, “Can we go swimming?”

My mom said, “Not yet.” Then my mom’s phone rang, “Jane and Mary are coming,” said mom. Jane and Mary were parents of some of the students. We hid in the rocks to surprise them.

As we hid all of a sudden the trees started shaking like the tail of a rattlesnake. My mom held us back while she got closer to see what the shaking was. When she saw brown she said, “Is it a bear?” but then shouted, “It’s a moose with three babies!”

Then my mom said, “Get back to the rocks!” because she wanted us to get away from the moose. One of my mom’s students, Audrey, said in a funny voice, “A baby moose!”

My mom then said, “Ya” to Audrey and then Jane and Mary arrived, but Mary had a dog! We were worried about the dog going after the babies and the mother moose would then trample the dog, and maybe us, to death because moose mothers with babies are as protective as a guard dog and very territorial.

Mary let her dog off the leash and my mom said, “There is a moose with three babies so can you please put your dog on the leash.”

Mary yelled like a coyote yipping in the night, “You can’t control my dog!” She took her dog and left but the entire time the moose mother was watching the dog.

Then, we had lunch, hot dogs! Everybody ran for the hot dogs like a stampede of wild buffalo. We all argued, “Me first! No me first,” for the hot dogs until Max, one of my mom’s oldest students said, “Guys, if you keep saying ‘me, me first’ then you will not get a hot dog.” After lunch we first made debris huts to learn how to survive in the night when you’re in the open. Debris huts are a shelter for surviving the night made out of sticks and logs in a survival situation. We had to make debris huts to sleep in for the night or we would be sleeping crammed in one tent like in a beaver hut because beaver huts are really cramped.

Max said, “Good idea.” So we waded in the water and I caught a green slimy young tiger salamander that was like a slippery fish! Then we went back to camp and we put “Slimy,” the salamander in a jar to watch him swim.

Then we went on a hike and saw a hawk, five chipmunks (when I was little I used to call them “chickenmunks”), and four deer. Then we found a spot to sit still for a moment. Sitting still in nature is one of the things my mom loves to do with her SAP students because it teaches them how to be more comfortable in nature and see more of it.SAP stands for Science Adventure Program.

Just before dusk we took our sticks and went hunting one more time. We stood in the freezing cold water for twenty minutes and then I saw a great horned owl sitting in a tree. we raced around the bank of the lake to tell my mom about the great horned owl. Luckily as we sat in the freezing cold water my mom was making a fire. We told my mom about the great horned owl while warming up by the fire. The girls said, “Where is the great horned owl?” I pointed to the tree and said, “In that tree.”

The girls then said, “Ohhhh, awesome.”

Right after we saw the great horned owl my mom yipped, “Dinner!”

Everybody ran to the fire and said, “Yay! I’m starving,” because we had a busy day and we had been waiting in the cold. So we ate and got ready for bed then in the middle of the night my mom heard hoof stamping, that she woke her up. Then she could feel her tent getting trampled and she dove out of the tent and ran to Jane’s tent.

On the way she heard “Christina I’m scared.” So she went in the tent and grabbed Audrey and Hannah and brought them into Jane’s tent to be safe from the mother moose. Audrey was shaking but Hannah was fast asleep and slept through the whole night. The mother moose trampled my mom’s tent to be protective of the her babies. Luckily my mom jumped out just in time to survive the moose trampling her tent.

In the morning we packed our bags, left for home and waited for the other students to get picked up. We talked about nothing but the moose mother all the way back to Boulder. We had a very exciting time in Allenspark! ———The End.

November 24 Full Day Program on Birds!

11/29/2014

Birding and Building Birdhouses was Fun! Kids learned to identify common birdsongs, got to hold various types of eggs and nests, and then saw a variety of birds through binoculars, including Ferruginous Hawks, black-capped chickadees, magpies, and woodpeckers, all common winter residents. We also built and painted our birdhouses, played outside, and decorated a "Thankfulness Tree" where people could write on little cards what they are thankful for and hang them up with gold ribbons. The kids were super excited at the end of our walk to see some people adding their cards to the tree!
We are looking forward to our next full day programs on Dec. 29 and 30,when we will take a trip to the Butterfly Pavilion the first day and to the Fisk Planetarium the next day.
Details-9am-4pm, $80 for one day or $150 for both days, includes admission. Sign up below!

October in Review

11/2/2014

October was Science Adventure Program's "Nature Photography Month" and we took pictures of everything from landscapes to portraits to elk. Photographer Nate Birnbaum helped the kids understand composition and lighting in photography, and we had a blast exploring to find great things to photograph. Along the way, we found bear scat, climbed trees, picked apples and made applesauce!