It may be early February, but 10th-grade biology students at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School already have their hands in the dirt, planting trays of dill and peppers that will be ready in early spring. <\/p>\n
\u201cBelieve it or not guys,\u201d says science teacher, Jim Morris \u201ctogether you\u2019ve planted almost 100 seed trays.\u201d <\/p>\n
Students file out of the classroom and take a spiral staircase down to the school\u2019s Robert Clark Greenhouse, where they will be filling more plastic trays with dirt and making tiny indentations in the soil \u2014 all part of the effort to get ready for Heathwood Hall\u2019s April 12 spring plant sale. <\/p>\n
Both the sale and the greenhouse lessons are part of a larger \u201cgreen\u201d initiative at the private school, called School Environmental Education, or SEED. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe school has always had a deep commitment to environmental education,\u201d said Morris, SEED\u2019s co-director. \u201cBut it\u2019s been each individual teacher doing their own project. SEED was created to be an umbrella group to pull all of these activities together.\u201d <\/p>\n
Launched last spring, the initiative uses a multipronged approach to coordinate what had become a long list of green projects or ecologically-minded programs, a focus for the school founded in 1951. <\/p>\n
A team of 25 \u2014 including faculty, administration, student council officers and parents \u2014 representing seven subcommittees helps direct the program\u2019s goals and ensure there aren\u2019t redundancies. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe operate on the premise that everyone takes ownership,\u201d Morris said. \u201cSo it\u2019s a bottom-up approach rather than a top-down approach.\u201d <\/p>\n
Projects have included conventional green programs, such as community cleanups, compost bins and vegetable and shade gardens. But the SEED team also has employed the unconventional, marrying environmental initiatives with other school programs. <\/p>\n
\u201cA huge number of people here have a classic land ethic to protect the environment,\u201d Morris said. \u201cSo we have always looked for opportunities to tie all of our programs in together with environmental science.\u201d <\/p>\n
Case in point: The spring plant sale not only serves as a lesson in photosynthesis and seed germination \u2014 something biology students were studying recently \u2014 but also raises funds for those same students to take part in their senior trip to rehabilitate homes on Johns Island in South Carolina\u2019s Lowcountry. The money raised from the sale will go toward paint and building materials. <\/p>\n
Biology Buddies, which pairs preschoolers with high school students, is another example of a Heathwood program doing double, even triple, duty. <\/p>\n
\u201cLittle kids can play in the dirt till the cows come home,\u201d Morris said. \u201cBut older kids will get bored after awhile. So we\u2019ve found the combination, with older and younger students together, works well. It\u2019s very productive.\u201d <\/p>\n
The kids, Morris said, not only receive a science lesson but gain important socialization skills in the process. It\u2019s a holistic approach that\u2019s become a hallmark of how the school approaches education. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe do that in various forms here,\u201d Morris said. <\/p>\n
The approach seems to be working. <\/p>\n
Sophomore Thomas Smith said he didn\u2019t think he would enjoy biology class. The 15-year-old, who tends to lean more toward history and English as his favorite subjects, said he\u2019s since changed his mind. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve gotten into medicinal plants,\u201d he said. \u201cLike herbal remedies. So this (class) has got me interested in that.\u201d <\/p>\n
While Morris and Todd Beasley, the program\u2019s other director, say some of the initiative\u2019s goals may be lofty, ultimately they may prove beneficial to the community as well. <\/p>\n
\u201cJim and I always like to think big,\u201d said Beasley, who teaches fifth-grade science. \u201cSo we sometimes have to remind ourselves this has only been the first year.\u201d <\/p>\n
In addition to encouraging students to take behaviors such as recycling and planting gardens home to their families, the program helps students rediscover the world around them, Beasley said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s this idea more or less of a \u2018green hour\u2019 to get them outside for an hour,\u201d he said. \u201cOne of our goals is to not necessarily say \u2018you need to put down the video game\u2019 but just get them thinking about other ways of entertaining themselves and get them reconnected to the outdoors.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Read more: It may be early February, but 10th-grade biology students at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School already have their hands in the dirt, planting trays of dill and peppers that will be ready in early spring. \u201cBelieve it or not guys,\u201d says science teacher, Jim Morris \u201ctogether you\u2019ve planted almost 100 seed trays.\u201d Students file out of the classroom and take a spiral staircase down to the school\u2019s Robert Clark Greenhouse, where they will be filling more plastic trays with dirt and making tiny indentations in the soil \u2014 all part of the effort to get ready for Heathwood Hall\u2019s April 12 spring plant sale. Both the sale and the greenhouse lessons are part of a larger \u201cgreen\u201d initiative at the private school, called School Environmental Education, or SEED. Continue reading
\nHeathwood Hall planting seeds of change<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"