Connecting the Community
| School/Organization: |
Acton Boxborough Envirothon 2008
Acton, Massachusetts
USA |
| Grade Level: |
High School/Secondary |
| Group Size: |
10 |
| Project Scope: |
Average |
| Hours Spent on Project: |
96 |
| Category: |
Restoration and Protection, Education and Public Awareness
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The town Arboretum is a great education and recreation resource, but we noticed that it was underused and mistreated. We created podcasts about the different environments in the Arboretum to attract for people to come and be outside.
The Arboretum is 53 acres of town conservation area in the center of town that showcases different ecosystems. With an open field, a bog, an esker, a butterfly garden, and over two miles of walking trails, the Arboretum provides an excellent background for environmental education, as well as a recreation site to combat Nature Deficit Disorder. Unfortunately, the beautiful grounds are hardly used; only a few dog-walkers can be found there each day. Our project focused on attracting more people to use the Arboretum to its fullest extent and educate them on how to use it properly.
The Friends of the Arboretum created pocket pack tour guides, which give each ecosystem a number and includes a short description of each one. This has certainly made it very easy for people to obtain information about the different ecosystems of the Arboretum once they are there. Our project built off this progress by creating a series of online podcasts to accompany the pamphlets.
Podcasts are short recordings, found on iTunes, that function like a radio broadcast. Episodes of a specific show or program are loaded onto the internet at different time intervals. Anyone can record their broadcast and then load it onto iTunes, where it is put up for the public. They are then downloaded by anyone interested in the topic, and can be put onto iPods, mp3 players, or burned onto CDs.
The first podcast is an introduction to the Arboretum and its history. It also informs listeners of the importance of keeping the area free of litter and dog waste, and tells them where they can find doggie bags at the entrance. The next podcasts feature one ecosystem per episode. In addition to the paragraph written on the pocket guides, we describe each ecosystem more in depth. This podcasting system makes education about the Arboretum widespread, and attracts a younger generation that is more in tune with technology than with nature.
Now that we have targeted the teenage demographic, we hope to attract younger children by installing letterboxes. Directions to each hidden box would be posted on the website, and the boxes would include games and activities to do at the Arboretum and educational information geared at the elementary school level. This would be a fun way for families to spend time together outside, away from the TV screen.
How Your Group's Environmental Ethic Changed
Each year the team is faced with a different environmental question, but our solutions all have one thing in common: community education. No matter what the topic we are trying to address, we believe it is important to involve the community by telling them what projects we are working on and describing the repercussions of a specific issue so that they can take their own steps to reducing the problem.
What We Wish We Had Known Before We Started.
The numbers on the pocket pack guide are not in order. So following those numbers was a little tricky.
How We Made A Difference
Though it is impossible to tell how many people have actually used the podcasts, we know that anyone who uses them will have a closer connection to the Arboretum. Hopefully, we have inspired people to get off their computers and video games and go outside.
Who Or What Has Shaped Environmental Thinking In Your Culture Or Country?
Rachel Carson.