Alice French, Education Coordinator at Menokin
Menokin, a 500 acre classroom connecting the past to the present. Come visit for yourself, connect with your world, and be inspired.
Menokin, a 500 acre classroom connecting the past to the present. Come visit for yourself, connect with your world, and be inspired.
With the opening of our new road and kayak launch, Menokin has been partnering with regional schools and environmental institutions to bring attention to what a wonderful place Cat Point Creek is. One of the most recent programs here was developed by students from St. Margaret’s School in Tappahannock.
This Spring, Kevin Goff’s “Bay Studies” class used “project-based learning” (PBL) to tackle a problem for Menokin: “How can we design educational materials and an ecotour on Menokin Bay that will help Menokin visitors understand the ecology and natural history of Cat Point Creek, the Rappahannock River, and Chesapeake Bay, as well as environmental challenges facing the bay ecosystem in the 21st century?”
This project was THE driving goal of the entire 10-week course, providing the occasion for the students to learn about the bay and its tributaries. PBL as an instructional approach gives students a great deal of voice, choice, and creative control over how the class progresses, how the project develops, and what the final product will look like. It’s rather different from typical class projects, which tend to be supplemental to traditional instruction, and either individual or small groups. Here it’s ONE project that the entire class tackles collaboratively, right out of the gate.
Upon completion of the class, their Final Exam was to present the Eco Tour to Menokin Staff and associates. The tour reflects an understanding of the complex ecology and natural history of Rappahannock River Valley Watershed and its many different habitats: open water, wetlands, seagrass meadows, oyster reefs, seafloor and shorelines. It also notes how human activity is stressing this beautiful and valuable ecosystem and what we can do to preserve and protect it.
The girls did a wonderful job, and as Menokin’s chief educator, I am pleased to be able to use the material and props they developed for future programming. I was even able to use some of the material immediately, when 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders from Aylett Country Day School came to visit and walk the trail to Cat Point Creek on June 6th!
Partnerships like this, allow everyone to learn and grow while having a great time, too. We look forward to future activities with St. Margaret’s and continued programs with all educational institutions within our community.
Read all the details below, and click here for a printable registration brochure. Get quackin’. Space is filling up!
While investigating the natural habitats of waterfowl in the Rappahannock River Valley watershed, campers will learn to document what they see and discover with cameras, notes and sketchbooks. By the end of the week, campers will have a greater understanding of the waterfowl and their habitats. They will also have had the opportunity to experiment with a variety of drawing techniques to prepare them to enter the Junior Duck Stamp Contest in March 2016.
The Junior Duck Stamp Summer Camp Program is for 5th-8th graders, ages 10-14 years.
July 20-21 and July 23-24, 2015
1:00 pm until 5:00 pm
YMCA Members – $20 per child
Non-members – $50 per child
*Several full scholarships are available through the generosity of the Rappahannock Wildlife Refuge Friends. For more information, please contact Alice French at afrench@menokin.org.
A water bottle, sunscreen, bug spray and shoes/clothes that can get wet.
Each camper will receive a sketch book, a pencil and eraser, and a paper portfolio for drawings. Pastels, crayons, colored pencils, and paints will be available for use.
July 20-21 and July 23-24, 2015
1:00 pm until 5:00 pm
Questions? Contact Alice French at 804.333.1776
DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT: July 10, 2015
DAY ONE: Wilna (July 20)
DAY TWO: Menokin (July 21)
DAY THREE: Westmoreland State Park (July 23)
DAY FOUR: Wilna (July 24)