General Education Programs
The Howard County Conservancy’s education programs provide the residents of Howard County the opportunity to learn about nature and the environment through programs and classes, restoration projects and demonstrations, service learning opportunities, and to practice responsible land management in their yards, on the farm, and in their open spaces.
Each year, approximately 5,000 school children take part in the Conservancy’s education programs and special projects. These include specially developed on-site and in-school programs ranging from nature walks to environmental activities and games. Programs for adults include guided nature walks, and various classes and seminars on stream ecology, animal diversity, astronomy, forestry, gardening, and land use practices, as well as teacher training for science teachers from across the state. Mount Pleasant also plays host for the county Envirothon and Junior Envirothon events.
In addition to programs for elementary school children, the Conservancy also offers pre-school programs, programs for scouts, and programs for home-schoolers. Please call the Conservancy for information about these programs – which can be tailored to your needs.
Programs for Elementary School Children
Join us for guided nature walks, environmental games, and nature crafts or other hands on activities. Our educational programs are aligned with the HCPSS science curriculum following the Constructivist Learning Model and encourage children to become engaged, to explore, and to explain what they observe. The Nature Programs also serve as an extension of concepts presented in the classroom. Elementary school programs take place in the morning, with an optional extension for lunch on-site.
Kindergarten Nature Programs
Spring Program - “I Spy Nature Everywhere”
The students will become explorers, discovering that nature can be found everywhere, even at their feet. Explorations can include smelling herbs in the garden, feeling fuzzy lambs ear, studying plants in a hoop or stopping to listen to the birds chirp overhead.
The goal of the program is to let the student explore nature around them. This is a very informal walk where the students lead with their curiosity. Staff will ‘hide’ snake skins, turtle shells, deer skull, and a fox pelt for the children to find. The emphasis of the program is to get the children outdoors, exploring nature at Mt. Pleasant.
First Grade Nature Programs
Spring Program– “Home Is Where the Habitat Is"
The students will explore a variety of habitats, both natural and man-made, that provide homes to the wide variety of plants and animals. Explorations can include the pear tree in the orchard, the old silver maples, the bee hives, the goat, the thickets and the meadows.
The goal of the program is to let the students explore nature around them. This is a very informal walk where the students lead with their curiosity. Staff will ‘hide’ snake skins, turtle shells, deer skull, and a fox pelt for the children to find. The emphasis of the walk it to allow the children to explore the components of several habitats found at Mt. Pleasant and to learn these homes are important.
Second Grade Nature Programs
Fall Program – It’s Not Just Dirt
The students will observe, compare, and describe land features and soil characteristics found in Mt. Pleasant’s natural environment and learn how erosion, farming and years of weather have shaped the landscape around them. Students will look for signs of erosion, search for rocks and explore the differences between grassland, garden and a mowed field.
The goal of the program is to allow the children to explore the world of soil, and to realize that it is not just dirt: that without soil, we would not have food, shelter (no trees), or even clothes.
Spring Program– Butterfly, Where Are You?
The students will explore natural and man-made butterfly habitats while observing how animals fit into the ecosystem as a whole. Explorations can include ant hills, the hundreds of crickets jumping at your feet, the butterfly garden, acting out the life cycle of a butterfly, investigating a cool spider web or watching the dragonflies hovering over head.
Third Grade Nature Program
Fall Program – What’s Weather Got to Do With It?
The students will observe, compare, and describe the effects of varying weather conditions on humans and Mt. Pleasant’s natural environment. Weather is all around us every day. It dictates what we wear, what we do, what we eat and just about everything else. Weather is in the news, in the newspapers and a whole channel is dedicated to it. So what’s weather got to do with it? Students will become meteorologists and learn how to predict weather by looking at clouds, learn how farmers predict weather, and see how sun, wind and water influence our daily activities.
Spring Program – Have Seeds Will Travel
The students will explore the production, formation and distribution of seeds in the forest and transitional areas on the farm. Observation might include temperature differences between the field and forest, flowers in the forest, seed formation and strategies for distribution, and evidence of animal/plant interactions.
The goal of the walk is to broaden the student’s observational skills by observing the numerous interactions that occur in the forest, edges and transitional areas. The emphasis is on the reproductive strategies of plants and how they have adapted to the environment.
Fourth Grade Nature Programs
Fall Program – Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?
The students will observe how erosion, farming, and years of weather have shaped the landscape around them. Students will take a closer look at soil characteristics in the grasslands and forest habitats, observe how natural processes such as weather and erosion have shaped Mt. Pleasant’s landscape, and discuss the impact on the natural environment by various human activities, i.e. farming, housing, ball fields, parking lots and roads
Spring Program – Build a Habitat
The students will explore plant/animal interactions that occur in the forest and transitional areas on the farm. Observation might include temperature differences between the field and forest, evidence of animal chewing on bark or leaves, the sounds of forest inhabitants and other evidence of animal/plant interactions.
The goal of the walk is to broaden the students’ observational skills by observing the numerous interactions that occur in the forest, edges and transitional areas. The emphasis is on the ecological interactions found in the various ecosystems found at Mt. Pleasant.
Cost
$7.50 per student (maximum 100 students per session). No charge for teachers and chaperones.
Registration for the above programs:
Please contact Tabby Fique at 410-465-8877 or tabby.fique@hcconservancy.org