Here are a few small examples of the Pathway to Stewardship Framework: For Young Children (Ages 3 to 6)
Core Stewardship Principle
A time for deepening relationships and understanding.
Reinforce and expand the developing sense of empathy.
Celebrate seasons.
Cultivate sensory awareness of nearby nature
Encourage the idea of “neighborwood” – the idea that our community consists of other living things as well as humans and built structures
Offer a creative response to time spent outside
Stewardship Opportunity
Choose an outdoor place to explore and play in. Visit regularly. Provide loose parts for kids to manipulate (sticks, stones, tree slices).
Plant, tend and harvest something that can be eaten. Raise butterflies, care for an animal. Find simple ways to recognize and enjoy the change of each season.
Identify natural sounds and smells. Explore micro-environments (peek under rocks/logs, create a mini trail)
Get to know plants, birds, and five insects living in your area. Create a mural that depicts the characters of your “neighborwood.”
Develop art projects using natural materials. Create a story or a play about the characters in your “neighborwood”
Core Stewardship Principle
Develop more complex outdoor skills.
Explore human impacts on the environment, develop leadership and decision making skills by planning and implementing a simple community based project.
Expand understanding of the relationships between living things and their habitats.
For Middle Childhood (Ages 7 to 12) Stewardship Opportunity
Try non-motorized outdoor activities, such as hiking, survival skills (shelter building, fire making, foraging wild edibles), orienteering, birding, and astronomy. Spend at least seven hours a week practicing these skills.
Create a small naturalized area. Manage a school recycling or composting project. Plan a small stream/river clean-up project. Make a poster or video to educate your community about your project. Research and write about the history of the piece of land you occupy.
Explore biodiversity in a nearby natural area. Conduct a small scale bio-physical inven- tory, finding at least 10 species each of plants, animals and insects. Explain three ways this ecosystem helps the environment. Get involved in citizen science projects: monitor bird, butterfly and amphibian populations. Monitor ecosystem health by conducting basic water and soil tests.
Expand understanding of sustainable lifestyles
Be an energy detective. Find out what kind of energy is used for heating, cooling, lights and appliances at home or school. What different renewable energy systems can you observe in your region? Design an energy efficient home that’s healthy for both people and the planet. Think about using natural materials, passive solar design, rainwater harvesting, renewable energy, innovative ways to treat human waste.
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GREEN TEACHER 113
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