that jumps to the foreground imme- diately, create that something. We had our niche before we had the pro- gram. Sailing is our medium and the outdoor playground of Lake Cham- plain is the realm in which we utilize that medium. Sailing provides the perfect plat-
form to cover school topics such as weather, climate, water quality, lake ecology, and even engineering, math, and physics. A sailboat’s motion is completely reliant on the strong principals of physics (Bernoulli’s principal, lift, force, etc.), and one must utilize basic math calculations to uncover the answers to how a sailboat moves. The environment in which we sail directly relates to the ecology of the area – i.e. how moun- tains surrounding your area affect wind, currents, and wildlife. With all of this information at hand, students can also begin to understand the dif- ferent careers associated with certain
of the physical environment, yet many people have never accessed it. As an organization, we believe that every single person should feel a sense of ownership toward the lake, and in order to do that they need to experience it first hand. Through sailing, people get out on the water in an entirely new way and are more connected with the lake than ever before. When you’re first starting out your mission may evolve
and branch off into different directions as your program grows, however, knowing the general direction of where you’re going or want to go before you start programming is vital. Our program began as a simple sailing program that incorporated science, ecology, and stewardship lessons. In the early years students and teachers came to the lake for a three hour visit which included an on-land lesson and on- water sailing component. Students engaged with the local ecology of the lake environment and the watershed through inquiry-based, hands-on learning on the shore. They then applied their new knowledge while experiencing the lake first hand from a sailboat, providing a vantage point of the natural environment that they had never considered. Today, we create custom programs when necessary, align
lessons with public school curriculum (Next Generation Sci- ence Standards, Common Core Standards), partner with US Sailing’s official educational platform (Reach Program), and ensure flexibility and safety around scheduling and weather. Students visit the lake twice a year and CSC educators visit classrooms to provide winter lessons, weaving a theme throughout the entire year of learning rather than just one visit, enhancing their learning application and retention. All of this and more evolved from our initial program format.
Find Your Niche Once you have your mission, you have to find your niche.
What makes your program different? Whether it is a sport, a catchy motto, a special environment, or an academic focus, distinguish your program from others. If there is nothing
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topics. They are introduced to the world of cartographers, watershed managers, wastewater consultants, mechanical engineers, mathematicians, geologists, etc. Sailing unleashes a whole new frontier for students to consider. As they lean over the side of the boat to fill a test tube with lake water to test dissolved oxygen, a sense of real world ‘can do’ is sparked within each student. When you create a program using sailing as the forefront
you’ll need to evaluate your surroundings to develop your curriculum. Whether you’re in a freshwater or saltwater envi- ronment will impact what science topics will be relevant to your students. No matter where you are you can always cre- ate lessons around the weather and geography of your region. Other pieces to consider are the type of sailboat you would use – a larger sailboat that can hold a group of children and chaperones is preferred. The sailing instructor is on board at all times, allowing students to comfortably experience the content they are focused on while having an opportunity to steer a keelboat through the water, a transformative experi- ence in and of itself. These logistical steps are vital as they shape your place-based program and make possible the life lessons that your program will inspire. When we first started planning our curriculum, we knew
that an experiential learning program would be the best way to impact our target population. Having considered all the potential topics listed above and how we could go about teaching them we realized – what better way to teach stu- dents how to test water quality than off the side of a sailboat, or discuss geology while staring at the ridges of the Adiron- dack Mountains? By putting the students on a sailboat, we are likely to foster a more memorable experience than a typical science lesson. When a fifth grader who has never been on a sailboat
glides their hand across the water, or a teacher relays the change they see in a student that has typically had a difficult time in the everyday classroom, something special happens.
GREEN TEACHER 109
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