By Jessica Schultz
During the month of October, work at the site picked up momentum as two items that were on order arrived, allowing installation and subsequent building steps to occur. These items included: the grey water tank and pump, as well as the black HDPE conduit for our electrical service.
By Jessica Schultz
We had so much fun with the Nature’s Myth Busters theme during Enchanted Forest! With this year’s characters Batilda the Bat, Goldenrod and Ragweed, Groundhog and Worm, Porcupine, Tom the Toad, and Worry the Worm, adults and children alike learned about our wild friends…and tested our knowledge as well!
By Patrick O’Roark
Few things are more satisfying to me as a Hitchcock educator than seeing the wonder and focus that appear on a visitor’s face during an up-close encounter with one of our teaching animals. As Speedy the eastern box turtle cruises along a classroom floor or one of our walking stick insects crawls up the arm of a mesmerized camper, the conversation in the room flows easily from ecology to adaptations to animal behavior. Learning is happening, but just as importantly positive memories are being made. Our animal ambassadors help the Hitchcock Center staff to foster a greater awareness and knowledge of the natural world in our visitors – just by being themselves.
By Helen Ann Sephton
On the mountain, kids make music. Rock music. It’s a natural introduction to the geology of the Holyoke Range and its trails – the sound its rock fragments make when struck or scuffed. It’s a minor note, but a memorable auditory experience as students begin to learn about the properties and geology in local formations.
By Colleen Kelley
Mary Dunn has been volunteering at the center for five and a half years and has assisted Hitchcock staff with a broad range of countless mailings, program registrations, library shelving, cleaning and organizing materials, decorating rooms for Enchanted Forest, cutting and crafting endless children program materials. She has even drawn her husband in to projects on occasion to build some beautiful wooden shelves, and repair a very well loved miniature tree house used by our pre-school program.
By Patty O’Donnell and Colleen Kelley
Hitchcock Center educators have been paying close attention to the evolution of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) since the 2011 release of the Framework for K-12 Science Education, a key guiding document that elucidates the need for revising how and what we teach about science.
By Peter Lamdin
Over the course of two weeks, from July 6th – July 17th, instructors Katie Koerten and Peter Lamdin helped lead twelve 11 – 13 year-olds through a series of activities and challenges aimed at learning leadership and teamwork skills with a goal of preparing these future leaders for being junior counselors at Hitchcock, or other summer camp programs, and hopefully also for being leaders in other group situations they might find themselves in. Indeed, two of the campers began working as junior counselors soon after camp ended!
By Katie Koerten
Nysha Sanchez, 16 and Kaylla Fairbanks, 15 spent the month of July working at the Hitchcock Center as “externs” from the Girls Inc. of Holyoke Eureka! Program. Eureka! is a nationally recognized five-year program designed to engage girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields, build leadership skills, and promote college education. Eureka! combines STEM education with personal development, health and wellness to grow girls’ confidence and skills as they approach the next phase of their lives.
By Jessica Schultz
During the 2014-2015 school year, Hitchcock Center educators Patty O’Donnell, Patrick O’Roark, and Helen Ann Sephton worked with 330 students and teachers in grades 1-5 at Jackson Street Elementary School in Northampton, with funding provided by the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s STARS (Students and Teachers Working with Artists, Scientists, and Scholars) grant. Students and teachers studied and explored their school grounds, and the nearby Barrett Street Marsh, through winter and spring seasons. They shared in learning across themes of tree, plant and animal study on the school grounds, animal adaptations, vegetation & animal plot studies in forest habitats, and geology of the Connecticut River Valley.
By Jessica Schultz
In June, Tatiana Garcia Cam and Maria Manivesa joined Hitchcock Center staff to understand environmental educational methods, our programs, our building project, and the Living building Challenge. Tatiana and Maria were participants in the Institute for Training and Development’s (ITD) Professional Fellows Program in Environmental Sustainability. The Professional Fellows Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, brings emerging leaders from around the world to the United States for intensive fellowships designed to gain knowledge of practices and techniques for working with different stakeholders toward environmental sustainability.
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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