By Jessica Schultz
After many months of intense design, planning and review, work has begun at our new site! What has happened in May so far? The silt fencing has been installed around our site to protect wetlands and limit run off. The limit of work and center line of our driveway have been surveyed and staked. Site clearing has begun and is nearly finished. It’s looking a lot different out there and we have installed two time-lapse cameras on site the capture the changes as they happen – stay tuned as we work to bring you closer to how we’re working to restore our site and build a new home and teaching facility for our center.
By Jessica Schultz
We are humbled and heartened by the many people who joined us at our groundbreaking ceremony on May 1st. Over 250 people gathered at our new site to mark this historic moment.
Science and Children
At our school students are accustomed to learning in informal, outdoor settings. We identify food webs, follow animal tracks in the woodland across the street, and harvest pumpkins from our school garden. For the last several years our garden has offered students new perspectives about what they are eating.
By Ted Watt
Fourteen teachers from Holyoke, Ludlow, Whately, Northampton and further afield, participated in a twelve-hour training on the integration of science and arts to meet instructional goals and standards identified for teachers in grades K-8. The training, funded in part by the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, introduced teachers to the steps in the engineering design process, something that carries a high profile in the new 2013 MA Science and Technology/Engineering Standards.
Many years ago, Josia Gertz DeChiara was a camper at the Hitchcock Center, climbing trees and playing in mud puddles. Her fascination with the magical inner workings of plants drew her to study molecular ecology at Hampshire College, where she is now a sophomore.
By Patty O’DOnnell
The Hitchcock Center is excited to announce that, in partnership with Enchanted Circle Theater (ECT), it is receiving a prestigious 2015 Commonwealth Award. Presented every two years by the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), the Commonwealth Awards shine a spotlight on the extraordinary contributions made by the arts, sciences, and humanities to education, economic vitality, and quality of life in communities across the state.
We are happy to announce that Patrick O’Roark is joining the Hitchcock education team this year moving from seasonal to year-round educator leading Homeschool II, field trip and summer camp programs.
Educators Patty O’ Donnell and Micky McKinley, Helen Ann Sephton, and Ted Watt have developed three curricula units for grades 3, 4, and 5 with grant funding from New England Environmental Education Alliance and the Massachusetts Environmental Education Society. The curricula, developed over the course of a year, is freely available on Hitchcock Center’s website
Hitchcock’s Nature Summer Camp was full through 5 sessions this past season with 122 campers and 10 junior counselors. Thanks to generous contributions from members and community organizations, we were able to offer 15 scholarships this year. While most campers were from Massachusetts, we also saw participants from Italy, New York, Maine, and Pennsylvania.
On September 12 & 13 the Hitchcock Center cosponsored a Mini- Conference on the Living Building Challenge™ at Hampshire and Amherst Colleges with keynote guest, Amanda Sturgeon, executive director of the International Living Future Institute in Seattle. The conference sought to inspire over 200 participants to imagine buildings designed and built using net zero energy and water, with locally and regionally sourced, non-toxic materials that incorporate concepts of biomimicry into a functional and educational design using the Living Building Challenge (LBC) as a certification framework.
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Hitchcock Center for the Environment
at Hampshire College
845 West Street | Amherst MA 01002 | 413.256.6006 | 413.253.2809 fax