On a rainy Thursday in May, three sixth graders from River Grove Elementary School formed a semi-circle under a covered porch and watched as a student carefully squeezed drops of pH testing solution into a small beaker of pond water. Metro Councilors Rex Burkholder and Shirley Craddick watched on as the students waited to see what color the water would turn; dark blue, orange or green. They were hoping for green, indicating a neutral chemical balance, the best environment for a variety of wildlife.
The students' water quality test was one of many activities done that week as part of Multnomah Education Service District's outdoor school program at Camp Namanu. MESD is one of four outdoor education providers Metro contracts with to provide waste reduction education at outdoor school.
New subject for outdoor school
While outdoor school has long been a staple of Portland-area schools’ science education, Metro began providing funds and curriculum resources for waste reduction education at outdoor school two years ago; paying for a full day of activities for students.
That education has come in many forms, from traditional classroom activities like making crafts out of recycled materials and studying how humans impact water quality, to less traditional activities that integrate waste reduction into everyday life at the camps.
At Camp Namanu, students use reusable dishes and cloth napkins at meals and staffers demonstrate how many paper napkins they save by choosing reusable options.
Many camps have students take turns measuring, charting and composting leftover food from meals, preparing cans and cardboard from the camp kitchen for recycling, and watching and performing skits about conservation at campfire programs.
By incorporating waste reduction education into outdoor school's daily activities, Metro hopes students will adopt reduction practices in their own lives.
"If we can use this memorable camp experience to show students how easy it is to practice waste prevention, then they can take that information and continue applying it at home and at school," said Metro waste reduction educator Freda Sherburne.
Metro funding
Since 2009, Metro has provided nearly $1.4 million to expand waste reduction education to more than 25,000 students at outdoor school programs across the region. It's an investment Metro councilor Rex Burkholder says is paying off.
"As school budgets continue to decline, many schools have considered cutting outdoor school opportunities for their students," Burkholder said. "Metro’s sponsorship of these programs has allowed schools to continue giving students the opportunity to attend outdoor school. It also provides incentives for other schools to resume or expand their outdoor school curriculum and grows Metro's waste prevention and recycling outreach."
Effects you can see
At the end of its fifth season of providing waste reduction education at outdoor school, Metro's award-winning program still impresses observers.
"You can see students take recycling to heart at outdoor school because they get to experience the effects their choices have on nature," Councilor Craddick said. "These sixth-graders are learning they can have a positive impact on their environment right now and that's something they'll remember throughout life."
And it continues to be praised by participating teachers in their anonymous, year-end reviews.
- "For many of my students this was their first real connection to conservation and their own lives. It's the start of an important conversation and understanding."
- "There is nothing more hands-on and fantastically educational than seeing conservation at work."
- "I heard students repeating the mantra, "Reduce, reuse" on their own – they got it."
Most importantly, the experience seems to resonate with students.
“Pre- and post assessments show that students are increasing their knowledge about waste prevention, recycling, toxics reduction and composting as a result of their experiences at outdoor school," Sherburne said. "Also, a large number of outdoor school students go back to traditional school saying they will try to incorporate specific sustainable practices into their everyday life. To us, that's a huge success."
Metro-supported outdoor school programs held their last classes of the season in late May. The next session of outdoor school starts in September.