Eco-Detectives A mystery event that engages youth between 5-12 years old in experiential learning
By Jennifer Yurky, Ryan Carpenter, Bruce Martin, Natalie Kruse and Andy Szolosi
learning. Perhaps that vision involves kids rushing to com- plete activities because they can’t contain their excitement, or parents voluntarily sharing details about learning experi- ences with other parents and encouraging them to bring their own children. It includes facilitators working one-on-one with learners to foster individualized learning. For the staff and volunteers at Sitka National Historical Park, this vision was realized through a new program in the fall of 2016. As environmental educators, we strive for our students to
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show growth in skills, acquire new knowledge, and develop emotional connections to elements within their surround- ings. Further, it doesn’t hurt to have fun along the way. The Eco-Detective Event Series, developed in the spirit of expe- riential learning for youth at Sitka National Historical Park, aims to meet these goals of growth and knowledge develop- ment while simultaneously enjoying an experience in nature. In our case, the program was first implemented on three
separate days throughout the fall of 2016. Youth arrived onsite to solve a series of mysteries including The Case of the Lost Egg, The Case of the Stolen Lunch, and The Case of the
E ALL HAVE A VISION of what engaged learn- ing looks like and it is no secret that, as educators, we strive to keep our students engaged in their
Sightseeing Adventure. With high retention rates throughout the series, increased levels of participation, and solicitation from other organizations to create similar programs, the Eco- Detective Series was deemed a success. We found inspiration for our program from an event series developed by the Metro Vancouver Regional Parks, Critter Capers, and hope that our event series in turn might serve as a springboard of inspira- tion for your own event series, detective activity, or experi- ential learning opportunity. In this article, we share the steps for envisioning, developing, and facilitating Eco-Detectives and provide insight for developing a program of your own.
Benefits of Experiential Learning Experiential education is one method in which we can pro-
mote environmental learning and creates an opportunity that is educational as well as social. It is characterized as a pragmatic approach that not only allows, but demands, hands-on participation. This approach incorporates tra- ditional learning goals of knowledge acquisition and skill development, but goes beyond typical classroom learning with the incorporation of explicit academic and social com- ponents as well as practical application of new knowledge. By choosing to develop Eco-Detectives as an educational opportunity that is truly experiential, our hope is that par- ticipants have a personal and unique experience and exit the program with a diverse range of knowledge acquisition and social understanding relating to the local wildlife.
GREEN TEACHER 113 Page 21
Photographs: Jennifer Yurky
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