Live. Learn. Teach.

Life as an IslandWood EEC Grad

2012-02-06T22:34:00.000-08:00

This weekend, over 70 IslandWood alumni returned to this fabulous place for the IslandWood EEC alumni weekend. It was a chance to reconnect, enjoy delicious food, play trivia, rediscover the winding trails, and much more. This year’s alumni, representing eight different years of graduate students, enjoyed a time of reflection and celebration of life as a grad and beyond.

Old grads and future (?) grad

Blair was a great Trivia Night host!

New discoveries on old trails

As the events unfolded, it was clear that each past class has been very unique: from the class of 2009, who was the first to climb the Canopy Tower, to the class of 2004, who had the highest boy-girl ratio, to the class of 2003, the first to be officially referred to as “EEC Grads.”

Well in our winter quarter as the class of 2012, what will we be known for? Only time will tell. For now, enjoy the slide show below: a visual tour of the experience as an EEC grad from our point of view.

Get to know a grad!

2012-01-31T00:00:00.000-08:00

What a musical group of grad students we're learning we have! This is an episode of our series of audio snapshots featuring grad students. Today the spotlight is on Sarah Berkeley! In addition to sharing a bit about her journey and goals, Sarah serenades us to a special IslandWood song we instructors sing to our students at the end of their weeks. The fact is we should also serenade Sarah today because it's her birthday! Happy birthday, Sarah! Listeners, enjoy her voice!

Get to know a grad!

2012-01-28T05:00:00.000-08:00

This is the second episode in a series of audio snapshots of our grad students. Meet Brian Marienfeld! Brian rocks out with his trumpet and banjo AND tells us a little bit about himself. What a treat! Enjoy!

Snowed In

2012-01-20T13:42:00.000-08:00

Because of our glorious three-day weekend in the North Cascades, sparkly white snow was certainly in our hearts and on our minds. There is something entirely magical about a thick, white blanket of snow enveloping the landscape—perhaps it’s the soft silence that it provides, the beauty and uniqueness in each flake, or the prospect of snow angel making. Whatever the fascination, snow was in our conversations and Mother Nature listened. Over the past few days, about six inches of fluffy powder fell on Bainbridge Island, transforming IslandWood into a true winter wonderland. Because of the already green, lush forest, the snow-blanketed woods were more inviting than ever. And, the grads weren’t the only ones who rejoiced in this change of weather: we were joined by a group of 5^th and 6^th grade students from the Seattle area. Our first student group in the snow, favorite activities of the week included tracking animals and discovering that birds do leave footprints in the snow, unearthing mushrooms on rotting logs under layers of snow and ice, and taking wintery strolls down the Spine Trail. As a special bonus, giving 100 10-year-olds a dream come true, they were snowed in and had to stay an extra night. Before the Seattle rain washed it all away, we snapped some pictures of this magical time on campus.

Arriving on campus to snow!

The snowy Spine Trail

A wintery walk in the woods

The grads built a fort!

Snow-covered grad cabins

"It heaps its powdery
Crystal flakes,
Of every tree
A mountain makes"

-From Snow by Walter de la Mare

Heading to the Mountains

2012-01-20T13:41:00.000-08:00

To close out the fall quarter, in December grads from North Cascades Institute (NCI) and Wilderness Awareness School (WAS) came to IslandWood for a three-day professional development conference to learn from and share with each other. All outdoor educators, we swapped songs to use in the field, exchanged creative lesson ideas, and explored IslandWood’s ecosystems. Last weekend, the same group congregated in the beautiful North Cascades, with the NCI grads as our gracious hosts. Their campus had just experienced the first snowfall of the winter, and arriving to this winter wonderland was purely “magical.” For three cozy days, we enjoyed the snow-capped landscape and company of fellow outdoor educators, where highlights included mountainous hikes, discovering cougar tracks in the snow, and venturing to Diablo Lake. We all benefitted from a mountainous getaway with some new friends in many ways, including the following:

“It was great to have some time for longer conversations with WAS and NCI students. We share so many similarities and have so much to learn from each other; I only wish we had been there for a few more days to connect. WAS students have some amazing wildlife stories and I learned a lot about the Cascades and Skagit River valley from NCI grads.” –Selena

“Being outside in the snow helped me get in a relaxed mindset. I became more comfortable in the snow, which I needed when teaching in the snowstorm at IslandWood this week.” –Lily

“It was nice to spend more time hanging out with the NCI and WAS grads, playing games at night and getting to know them a bit more on a personal level.” –Liz

From the lookout on Diablo East hike, looking down on Diablo Lake under the Seattle City Light power lines.

A breathtaking mountain view from Ted

Hiking in the mountains

Eating lunch by the lake

Gazing at the beautiful view

New Year, New Faces

2012-01-09T17:44:00.000-08:00

After a restful two-week break, we welcomed each other back to IslandWood for another quarter of learning and teaching. And part of our reintroduction to this space we are calling “home” for now included meeting the other residents of IslandWood, ones who reveled in our absence. These are the creatures of the day and night who, in the quiet stillness of the forest, could sense that we were all away for the holiday break. Luckily, technology has made it possible for us to “meet” these silent residents. This week as part of our Natural History class, we set out to recover images from three camera traps that instructors Stan and Greg had set over the break. The cameras, placed on trees in three different locations, are motion-triggered and can capture nighttime images with an infrared flash. Back inside, we anxiously awaited the results, hoping for glimpses of the other mammals who also call IslandWood “home.” We ooo-ed and aaah-ed as we scrolled through the pictures and were fascinated to see actual images of the creatures from whom we normally only find tracks and scat. It served as a potent reminder that although we often claim this space as “ours” we are merely visitors in others’ territory.

Here are some of the favorites:

A river otter on the Marsh Loop Trail

Raccoon on the Marsh Loop Trail

Not sure what to think about the camera...

Cheese! A deer posing

The most exciting: a coyote!

Strange creatures indeed

Our Beautiful Moon

2011-11-17T11:59:00.000-08:00

“May you have warm words on a cold evening,  a full moon on a dark night and the road downhill all the way to your door.”

-An Irish blessing

There is something completely magical about a bright moon on a clear evening. And a lucky group of grad students were able to experience this enchantment the other night after class in a very special way.

In Clancy’s Science Methods class, we have been diligently journaling about the moon each night, noting if its visibility, luminosity, position in the sky, and any details we can see. So, on a clear Thursday night, Clancy met us outside of the learning studios as we trickled out of Denise’s class. Set up was a viewing scope attached to a small TV screen. As Clancy fiddled with the scope to get it just right, we were all gathered around, anxious to see the moon up close. As soon as it came into view, bright and detailed, we spontaneously started cheering and exclaiming with awe. We were just like an SOP group, giddy and excited, marveling at the moon’s beauty and sharing this unique experience with each other. We erupted in songs about the moon, took turns at the TV to see the moon up close, and passed around binoculars that provided a similar spectacular view.

Even if he wanted to, Clancy probably couldn’t have gotten the group to sit down and journal at that moment. He stayed back and let us explore, discover, and fire off questions like, “Is there such thing as a dark side of the moon?” It was an important lesson for us, not only to learn about the moon, but also to remember how our kids feel most of the time when they are here: full of wonder, awe, and completely inspired by the beauty of our natural world.

We get it almost every night
and when that moon gets big and bright
it's supernatural delight
everybody was dancin' in the moonlight

-Dancing in the Moonlight by King Harvest

Tales from the Field

2011-11-03T17:21:00.000-07:00

We are so fortunate as EEC graduate students here. The wonderful backdrop to our learning is IslandWood’s 255-acre campus of greenery and sustainability. We are equally blessed as IslandWood instructors. The classrooms for the many students that visit each week are awe-inspiring spaces like tree houses, trails, and hidden wild zones nestled off the beaten path. We can plan lessons around watching leaves fall from the tops of big maple trees, dark starry nights by the pond, and unexpected black-tailed deer sightings.

A few weeks ago in class, one of our teachers shared a poem by Taylor Mali, a former teacher and current poet. Titled Undivided attention, this piece speaks to the difficulty of teaching while there are exciting distractions outside a classroom window. In Mali’s story, students are glued to the sight of a piano being moved out of an eighth-floor window, and not so much enthralled with learning math. As teachers, we want the students to be most engaged in what we have to offer them. As I listened, I thought how lucky we are at IslandWood to be able to use the wonders of nature as an integral part of our lessons.

In the second half of Undivided attention, Mali writes:

See, snow falls for the first time every year, and every year
my students rush to the window
as if snow were more interesting than math,
which, of course, it is.

So please.

Let me teach like a Steinway,
spinning slowly in April air,
so almost-falling, so hinderingly
dangling from the neck of the movers' crane.
So on the edge of losing everything.

Let me teach like the first snow, falling.

(Full text of poem found here.)

Here, we don’t have to compete with sudden occurences in the great outdoors. We can use them as richly as we want. And we have been. For the past five weeks, these moments, big and small, have been happening. Enjoy the following tales from the field, when grad students have been able to teach “like the first snow, falling.”

Julia Hugs a Tree

“When I was team teaching with Ted, we were leading the kids on a solo walk . Ted went first to lay down the cards to follow and read. Then, each student went on their own. One of them said: Hug a tree. Don’t worry: no one’s watching. I was the last to go through, after all the kids had their turn. When I got to the card, I actually hugged a tree and felt a little silly. The second I got within eyeshot of the kids, they all started asking me: Julia, did you hug the tree? Which one? They were so excited! The more we talked about it, the more they all just started randomly hugging trees. This lasted until the moment they got back on the buses.”

Mashawn and the Moon Shadow
“We went on a night hike and we had a full moon. We were hiking on the Spine Trail by the bog, where there are all these clearings in the trees. The kids were hiking and they were all clumped together. But then, they looked to the right and could see their shadow. Immediately, they started asking: why is my shadow there? It’s night and it’s dark, what is going on? They got to see their shadow at night and that was a really cool experience for them. I explained about how bright full moons cause moon shadows.”

Bri and the Big Leaf Maple

“I was really trying to get the kids to hike last Thursday because time was short . So, to keep them moving I said: while we walk, keep eyes open for the biggest maple leaf you can find. They got really into it and were finding all these leaves for the rest of the day. At the end of the day, they all get to take their leaves home."

Get to know a grad!

2011-10-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

This is the first audio snapshot of who makes up Class of 2012. First up is the lovely Liz Maloney! Enjoy her voice!

Introducing IslandWood's Grad Class of 2012!

2011-10-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

We are 23 individuals with passion and ambition. We have hiked for weeks on end, seen landscapes many only dream about, and sailed vast seas for days. We have taught hundreds of kids, indoors and out. We are counselors, students, therapists, writers, and thinkers. Influenced by childhood walks in the woods, inspired by a vision of a greener world, we are commonly linked here at IslandWood because of our love for nature, belief in education, and our hopeful ideas for the future. We believe in the power of outdoor learning to heal, transform, and ignite a sense of wonder. We each bring a unique perspective on education and our own set of environmental experiences, and we are ready to learn from each other and the greater IslandWood community. Together we are IslandWood’s graduate class of 2012, and here is where we are from…

We Are From…

Iron, Timber, and Fish

A family of strong women

Eyes twinkling with rainbow smiles

A gnarly scar full of blood and great stories

Singing around a campfire

Circular racks in department stores

With snow that covers your porch and melts the next day

Twin sisters that wanted something better than they had

Salty waves, rocky shores, and evergreens

Where I welcome the occasional summer breeze

Cold water, swimming, sailing, rowing

Thunder clap, boom, crash

Optimism that next time will go better

A dreamer and a believer

Exploring the woods and days that would last forever

Pickney you a grow, a you wi’ see

A place whose people are deeply connected to the land

Baking cakes for birthdays

A family that isn’t pure blood but a process of selection

Where sandhill cranes dance and bison wallow

A strong mother and honorable father who taught me to explore and wonder

The ocean

Realizing the journey is never over

We are from.

Oh, the places we'll go! (Part two...)

2011-07-11T23:59:00.000-07:00

The Saturday before Graduation has become almost as big a tradition as the ceremony itself. Chef/Professor Clancy Wolf makes some ASTONISHINGLY delicious paella. Grads, Islandwood staff, friends and families were all in attendance - not only to eat the delicious paella - but to watch the spectacle of creating it! Clancy and Chris Agnew (one of the amazing IslandWood chefs) cooked the dish in several large pots over a couple of fires in the garden. If you were watching, you were probably helping too. Unless of course, the final step had been reached.

Master of Paella - Dr. Clancy Wolf

Clearly, #9 is the most important step!

Many family members were acquainted before the party with some grad-facilitated challenges on the Teams Course. The experience was a highlight of the participants’ stay at IslandWood and turned out to be quite the ice-breaker, as many laughs and accomplishments were shared.

Grads' loved ones balancing Whale Watch

To think, they were strangers just before the Teams Course

Grads show 'em how it should be done!

The paella party was a potluck, so many delicious dishes from staff, grads, and families were sampled in addition to the epic dish. Families and friends chatted and shared a lovely evening, sipping on homemade sangria from Cathy Sanford :) The Forest Chorus delighted the crowd with lovely songs, and everyone watched that oh-so-famous video once again.

Paella was the star, but there were many delicious dishes to be had!

Good times with friends

Forest Chorus sings to the crowd

Graduation day was just perfect. The ceremony began with Ian, Clarissa, and Ali playing “Stand By Me”. Ali sang the song beautifully, and Ian’s stand up bass, as well as Clarissa’s guitar playing were flawless. The grads walked in and took a seat, while Clancy gave the best opening speech the grads could have asked for. Clancy’s words were genuine, humorous, and profound, and most of us could not hold back our tears for very long.

Ian, Ali, and Clarissa begin the ceremony

This banana slug cap was one of the many surprises in Clancy's speech!

Cornelia and Adam presented Karen Matsumoto with the Patsy Collins Award - an IslandWood tradition that recognizes an outstanding local educator from the community - nominated for the great work that they do and whose practices are in line with IslandWood’s educational philosophies.

Cornelia and Adam introduce the recipient of the Patsy Collins Award...

Karen Matsumoto!

As each Grad crossed the stage, his or her mentor shared their mentee’s talents, triumphs, and qualities before adorning them with a lei made by Randy Komatsu and his wife, and presenting them with their certificates in Education, Environment and Community. Getting to know our mentors throughout the year and depending on them for guidance and support has been one of the most powerful parts of our experience at IslandWood. It was an honor to receive these gifts from one of the people who have had such a profound roll in our growth as educators.

Ray shares his thoughts on Ms. Bonnie Anderson

Greg and Montana...pre-hug!

Brownie (aka Lauren Brown) and KareBear (aka Karen) share a celebratory hug

Danny read a poem that we created very early on in the fall. We all wrote our own “I am from...” poem during a diversity workshop, and at the end of the session we combined a line from each grads’ poem together to create one beautiful one - “We are from...”.

We Are From….

Straight out of the womb to the emergency room
A family of musicians
Spices and sports
A gravel road
Begging my brothers to take me along
An arranged marriage held together by catholic values
Chicken coops and boxcar children
Twinkle lights and swaying seas
You can never add too much cheese
A snapshot of memories
Lots of holidays with my entire family
Using love to end hate
Hard work and idealism
An amazing saving grace
A hike through the woods each day to work
A life of constant change
Feet that can’t sit still
I will do my best
Making mistakes, some bigger than others
A proud, unique hippie town
People who love me despite what they know
Poets and pickles, full of love and green kindness
Cramped closets and sunsetting stages
Leafy greens and sprouting beans
Big trees and a burning desire to belong
From nurture and nature
Those who will always have my back
Quilt-square cornfields and rusty ice smokestacks
I am a survivor, enjoying the ride

The “We are from...” poem preceded a similar effort more suited to the end of the year and our experiences at IslandWood. We created a “Where we’ve been...” poem encompassing what the EEC experience has meant for each one of us. Some contributions were silly and some were sad; the poem was beautiful in every way.

Where We’ve Been...

We have put our hands into the soil and, not knowing what might come of it, grown something so unbelievably beautiful – DM
Created a new home that may be far from our families and previous lives, but will last beyond this time and this place.- IS
We have lived!-ED
Smearing countless bananas across our faces - DS
Getting lost along the trails and helping each other find our ways again. - RN
We have found hope and a powerful optimism in knowing that the youth of our world are being taught by caring, passionate, intentional educators. - CA
Struggled with the same skills we teach to our students –JP
We have been through solo walks and thoughtful talks-Z
Shared smiles (and sometimes even angry eyes smiles) across our circles that only we really understand. - KC
We have cried, grown, and come together - AT
Helping each other when we weren’t feeling so great ourselves - CE
We have climbed to the top of very tall towers and crossed bridges to get there. - AP
Surviving a sea of struggles, rising up together and learning that our roots are stronger than we ever thought. -AD
We have seen rain and sun, wind and snow, all while building relationships that will continue to grow. - LB
Danced for the sheer joy of it. -CB
Experimented, educated, and excelled!! - KB
We have seen miracles and disasters, both always together.-CJ
Dove deep into the imperfect and beautiful reflective pools of our being. – LG
To a moon of green smiles, seedling friendships strong in the wind. -Cornelia
We have survived through hardships and challenges, celebrated the successes, reflected on experiences, and grown as learners and educators. -AC
Been broken down only to fight our way back stronger than before. –BK
Known that no matter how the stars aligned – this is where we were meant to be - RV
We learned how to do the hula-hoop, that we are a firework, the majestic call of the trumpeter swan, and that Danc-ee-o-kee is a good way to let off steam - BA
Learned, laughed, and loved from our hands, minds and hearts. -TS
There are no endings, just new beginnings. PP
We have offered more of our selves than we thought wise, and received in return more wisdom than we can imagine. -KVM
The first welcome was a gift; the second was a blessing. -MT
In the bog, cathedral, and beyond; our roots go down. -AZ

Reading our lines from "We are from..."

We each read our lines and then returned to our seats for Ashley to finish off our portion of the ceremony. She read the words from a legend whose works we have shared with our students throughout the year. There could not have been better words chosen to send us off than those from Dr. Seuss’ “Oh! The Places You’ll Go”.

Oh! The Places We’ll Go (adapted from Dr. Suess’ “Oh! The Places You’ll Go”)

Congratulations!
Today is our day.
We’re off to Great Places!
We’re off and away!

We have brains in our head.
We have feet in our shoes.
We can steer ourselves any direction we choose.
We’re on our own. And we know what we know. And WE are the ones who’ll decide where to
go.

Oh! The Places We’ll Go!

We’ll be on our way up!
We’ll be seeing great sights!
We’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

We won’t lag behind, because we’ll have the speed. We’ll pass the whole gang and we’ll soon
take the lead. Wherever we fly, we’ll be best of the best. Wherever we go, we will top all the
rest.

Except when we don’t.
Because, sometimes, we won’t.

I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to us.

We can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And our gang will fly on. We’ll be left in a Lurch.

We’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that we’ll
be in a Slump.

And when we’re in a Slump, we’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping ourselves is not easily
done.

No! That’s not for US!

Somehow we’ll escape all that waiting and staying. We’ll find the bright places where Boom
Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more we’ll ride high! Ready for anything
under the sky. Ready because we’re that kind of a gal or guy!

Oh, the places we’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games
to be won. And the magical things we can do with that ball will make us the winning-est winner
of all. Fame! We’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching us win on
TV.

Except when they don’t. Because, sometimes, they won’t.

And when we’re alone, there’s a very good chance we’ll meet things that scare us right out of
our pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare us so much we
won’t want to go on.

But on we will go though the weather be foul. On we will go though our enemies prowl. On we
will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though our arms

may get sore and our sneakers may leak. On and on we will hike. And I know we’ll hike far and
face up to our problems whatever they are.

We’ll get mixed up, of course, as we already know. We’ll get mixed up with many strange birds
as we go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a
Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right
foot with your left.

And will we succeed?
Yes! We will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

Kids, we’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, we’re off to
Great Places!
Today is our day!
Our mountain is waiting.
So…let’s get on our way!

The words were so fitting for our special day and for the days that are soon to follow. We watched a slideshow of photos from the year and had a good laugh at a number of them. The Education Team at IslandWood surprised us with a revamped version of “Hey IslandWooders” - the song that we sing to the students at each week’s closing Friendship Circle.

Ray introduces the re-vamped "Hey IslandWooders"

John adds some "pomp" to the "circumstance" during the closing speech!

It is hard to express how much the year at IslandWood has meant to us. This blog entry alone is way longer than most that we have posted - but it probably could have gone on for pages. All of us have been keeping in touch via an ongoing e-mail. While many of us are still in the same places (Seattle and Bainbridge Island) - some of us have moved away. Grads are in Maine, Washington D.C., Montana, California, Korea, Hawaii and beyond. Some will return in the fall to go to the University of Washington and finish their degrees. Some will go other places and move on to different things. We already feel nostalgic towards our IslandWood home and our IslandWood family and we look back at our experience with a fondness that will not soon fade.

Oh, these two!!! Waterworks everywhere!

Environmental educators sure do clean up nicely!

Thanks for reading and keeping up with the Class of 2011! Good luck to next year’s class and may you enjoy everything that this amazing place and experience have to offer.

Love, Roxann and Bonnie

Oh, the places we'll go! (Part one..)

2011-06-25T10:13:00.000-07:00

The IslandWood EEC Class of 2011's final teaching week (so much love!)

Graduation weekend was emotional for us all. We were overjoyed during our last week of teaching. We were suffering from lack of sleep and were stressed with finishing up our ISP's and teaching portfolios on time. We felt accomplishment and success. But, most of all - we felt a profound sadness to leave our grad family.

Many special guests gather for the premiere of a creation the grads were proud to leave behind!
(Once we figure out how to get it online, we hope to share it with the world!)

Thursday, June 9th, marked the end of the teaching week and the debrief lunch was an event that will not be soon forgotten by either the grads or the staff. We were given an opportunity to truly think about what we would take with us after our year at IslandWood. One of the most important things we learned this year was how powerful a community can be. It is an amazing feeling to be surrounded and supported by a group of people who truly care about you and your well being, and from here on out, we hope to create similar communities wherever we go.

Danny and Cathy Sanford chat about Danny's project during the ISP sharing

Teaching was over but we weren’t done yet. Friday provided the grads who spent all quarter working on their Independent Study Projects the opportunity to show off all of the cool things they now know. We already posted Chris Emme’s amazing “Farm Rise Up” video. (Please see two posts ago if you missed it!) Other projects included Kathie Bradford’s creation - an addition to the IslandWood website all about owls! Laura Goff shared her journey through pictures and video of her creation of a (very successful!) community storytelling event at IslandWood, while Adam, Lauren Brown, and Kasey shared the exciting (and soon to be published?!) research that they have conducted with the help of John Haskin (Director of Education at IW), interviewing School Overnight Program alums! There were so many amazing projects shared. Then, all grads presented their portfolios. These ranged from websites to super ornate binders (Ali). The portfolios showcased how, even though we all completed the same program, we all had unique experiences that helped us develop as educators.
Check out Danny and Lauren's awesome online portfolios: http://laurenbalcken.wordpress.com/ and https://sites.google.com/site/dannymoloneyportfolio/home

Kathie sits by her ISP creation which can be found on the IslandWood website!
(Check it out! http://islandwood.org/forkids/owls-at-islandwood)

The day ended with an extremely special treat. The grads and the Ed team visited the home of IslandWood’s founders Debbie and Paul Brainerd. Debbie hosted a beautiful lunch that can be summed up by Chuck’s exclamation: “This is even nicer than my wedding!” After a year of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, it was extremely rewarding to be treated like royalty for an afternoon. We shared stories and hugs with Debbie - before it was time to hang with our families before the BIG DAY!

Bonnie, Danny, and Karen engage in intense discussion at the luncheon

Kat and Cassie naturalize at the beach in front of the Brainerds

The UH-mazing spread!

Empty plates and happy hearts

We hang with kids all day - don't judge.

Part two coming soon! (Don't worry - it's already in the works)

Make a Difference Summit

2011-06-06T23:52:00.000-07:00

School Overnight Program alums reunited with IslandWood on May 25th at KCTS Studios in Seattle for the annual Make a Difference Summit. Students from JDS, St. Edwards, Bailey Gatzert, Evergreen, Kimball and John Muir elementary schools showed off their continued acts of stewardship as they shared with the group all of the hard work they have done in their communities over the past few weeks and months.

Planting gardens was just one of the many impressive and awe-inspiring projects presented by JDS

After a warm welcome from John Haskin - IW's Director of Education, KCTS' Community Outreach Coordinator Tony Gomez, and State Farm's (a company whose generous donations made the event possible!) Nancy Carpenter, JDS were the first school to share their work. We were captivated by the persuasive essays they wrote to different businesses and organizations, the incredible fundraising projects they overtook, and the support they showed for local animal shelters and food shelters.

Students wait for their moment to shine at the amazing KCTS Studios

St. Edwards shared the work they put into their school's garden (IW Grad '11 Laura Goff was there to help!), the story of beginning family-style dining in their lunch room, and presented some top notch research on what kind of water system would be best for their garden. Ask St. Edwards if PVC, copper, or galvanized pipes work best!

St. Edwards students can tell you ANYTHING you need to know about water systems!

John Muir dressed up for the big day - and they looked great! We were so excited to hear about the strenuous ivy pulling they did at Seward Park with the Mountaineering Club of Seattle. John Muir students became ivy experts and made a difference in ridding the area of this invasive!

Ever so professional, John Muir shares their struggle and success with English ivy

Randy Komatsu, IW's School Partnerships Coordinator, was an incredible host and left the kids with a story that paints a brilliant picture of the value of these students' work:

While walking along a beach, an elderly gentleman saw someone in the distance leaning down, picking something up and throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, picking up starfish one by one and tossing each one gently back into the water.

He came closer still and called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”

The old man smiled, and said, “I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”

To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

Upon hearing this, the elderly observer commented, “But, young man, do you not realise that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it into the back into the ocean past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference for that one.”

"It made a difference for that one."

Thanks to all the students for their lasting stewardship and the differences they continue to make in their communities.

If you need a laugh and want to learn a little something - look no further!

2011-05-30T11:44:00.000-07:00

Farm Rise Up is a production from Chris Emme - and an AMAZING creation at that. He has been working hard on his Independent Study Project, keeping up with his blog Eating with Intention (http://eatingwithintention.blogspot.com/) as he investigates the different facets of our food production and consumption. Watch, learn, and enjoy!

An entry on the inspiring Make a Difference Summit held on Wednesday, May 25th at KCTS studios in Seattle is in the works! Stay tuned!

Get to Know a Grad!

2011-05-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

Name: Lin-Z 'Z' Maglietta

Hometown: Roselle Park, NJ

Undergraduate University/Degree: RS Stockton College of NJ (Major: Biology; Environmental Science

What brought you to IslandWood? The want to teach children, specifically inner-city kids about properties of the environment.

What is your favorite thing about IslandWood so far? Islandwood as an organization: the misson. Islandwood as a place: the fallen tree near the bird blind.

What is your favorite thing about Bainbridge Island/Seattle/The Puget Sound so far? The mentality of the people, the fact that the majority want to conserve nature, and how breath taking everything is.

Who would you want to play you in the movie version of your life? Sarah Silverman

Quick! Someone gave you 100 bagazillion dollars! What do you do with it?
A. Put 1/4 of it in the bank (for interest)
B. Pay off those pesky loans...and my older sisters loans
   B2: Get to pay for the rest of my master's degree without loans!
C. Find some charities in need of some $$ (that go towards education, community, and the environment)
D. Set up my "retirement plan"
E. Convert my boyfriend's bus to biodiesel
F. Give some to my family members that I KNOW would really appreciate the cushion
G. Buy my mom a neon light palm tree
H. Buy a plane and convert it to biodiesel.
I. Buy a Mac... hahaha.

And yes, I thought of all these things super quick.

Who do you most admire and why? I most admire my mother for her strength, perseverance, and quick wit.

What do you think you might do after IslandWood?
Get some jobs to pay off my loans, but ideally create my own non profit with my boyfriend and travel the world working with other non profit organizations.

Final thoughts?
    We are the music makers,
    And we are the dreamers of dreams,
    Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
    And sitting by desolate streams;-
    World-losers and world-forsakers,
    On whom the pale moon gleams:
    Yet we are the movers and shakers
    Of the world for ever, it seems.

Mama said don't play with your food!

2011-04-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

IW 2011 grads and friends with their culinary creations!

When it's food art, it's perfectly okay to play, play, play! Michiko Olson came to IslandWood as an Artist in Residence and taught a handful of field groups throughout the week. Grads and interns (and a hubby too!) joined Michiko for a professional development session that was just too much fun!

True or false? You've got a 50/50 chance here!

The session began with a "true or false" game on some history about Japan. We held up plates adorning the Japanese character for "true" or "false" and proceeded to learn some fun facts.

Michiko engages her learners with some visuals

Looks like the real thing!

We all chose a word that we were fond of, and Michiko drew the Japanese character for us to copy onto our papers using calligraphy. She even translated our names for us, and provided stamps to decorate our mini posters.

The Japanese tea ceremony corner!

We even engaged in another aspect of Japanese culture with a traditional tea ceremony. We were given belts and swords for effect and fun!

Working on our masterpieces!

It wasn't long before we began working (quite obsessively) on our food art. Michiko had an incredible set-up with colorful edibles cut in various ways to help ease us into such an intricate process! We had so much fun arranging, wrapping, stamping, munching, and testing out a variety of creative processes before sitting down to eat!

Michiko's adorable chicks!

Ian surprises himself!

Kathie is all smiles as she works with such an amazing medium!

Food art, calligraphy combo!

Priya's work! Yum!

My springtime bouquet!

Bonnie went for the cutest display ever :) (bunnies!)

Z takes food art to a whole new level!

I want to hang out in JP's creation! So cool!

Kathie and her lovely design!

Although our food art was demolished in a couple of bites, we took home a whole new appreciation for the simple, yet extraordinary elegance of Japanese art. Stay tuned for Bonnie's recount of yet another amazing Artist in Residence who tapped into our songwriting talents and musical creativity! Thanks Michiko!

Get to Know a Grad!

2011-04-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

Name: Rachel Nagorsky

Hometown: Glenview, IL

Undergraduate University/Degree: B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies

What brought you to IslandWood? To get a Masters of ED in a small and individualized program that focuses on environmental education. I also liked how we got to teach/practicum as we're learning, so you get to apply everything right away.

What is your favorite thing about IslandWood so far? The community, from the second we got here we were so welcomed and appreciated. It hasn't stopped yet.

What is your favorite thing about Bainbridge Island/Seattle/The Puget Sound so far? Getting to live on an island that people vacation on and never want to leave. Makes me really appreciate where I get to spend my day-to-day. In Seattle, I like getting to bike around everywhere, especially the Edward Myrtle trail along the water.

Who would you want to play you in the movie version of your life? Anne Hathaway

Quick! Someone gave you 100 bagazillion dollars! What do you do with it? Travel.

Who do you most admire and why? My sister because she knows what she wants and gets it, making it look effortless, even though she is the hardest worker and most determined person I know.

What do you think you might do after IslandWood? Be a garden educator.

Final thoughts? Man, I love this program!

The end is near! (dun, dun, dun...)

2011-04-10T17:02:00.000-07:00

Chris E. admires the cherry blossom blooms on UW's campus

It is our last quarter at IslandWood and the grads have split into their cohorts one last time. Cohort F (Fantastic, fun, freaky, free-spirited, funky, etc.) went on a field trip with Hillary to fill out some necessary paperwork, tour the UW farm (with none other than Lily, IslandWood Grad '10), and meet with Mark Windschitl from the College of Education to answer some of our looming questions. It was a fun time had by all, and we are excited for next year!

Ready to drill Prof Windschitl!

Laura snags some free cabbage

The UW Farm is located right off the Burke Gilman Trail in Seattle. The public is even encouraged to harvest some edibles as they walk by the planted beds!

A farm, right in the middle of the city!

A look inside one of the impressive greenhouses

Thanks for all of the info and enthusiasm, Lily!

There is so much information about the farm - I couldn't possibly remember it all. Find more information at: http://students.washington.edu/uwfarm/. And while we're on the topic of farms - please check out fellow IW Grad Chris Emme's blog - Eating with Intention - as he takes on the challenge of tracking the journeys of the different foods that he eats. He will be visiting farms in the area, recording what foods he eats normally and reflecting on how it makes him feel as well as what their costs and origins may be. He will then switch to a more local and healthy diet for comparison. This challenge is all part of Chris' Independent Study Project - or ISP. Mmm....I'm getting hungry!

"Check out my blog!"

Get to Know a Grad!

2011-03-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

Editor's Note: This is the fourth installment of a semi-regular Get to Know a Grad feature! Enjoy!

Name: Kasey Christian

Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC

Undergraduate University/Degree: University of North Carolina at Asheville/Health and Wellness Promotion

What brought you to IslandWood? A plane. Sorry, not funny. I was a Nanny in The Netherlands and learned about the program from a Grad and it sounded so amazing and then I applied. A great motivation to come back to the U.S.

What is your favorite thing about IslandWood so far? The forest and all the creatures living in it.

What is your favorite thing about Bainbridge Island/Seattle/The Puget Sound so far? Natural beauty, sense of community, and coziness.

Who would you want to play you in the movie version of your life? Claire Danes

Quick! Someone gave you 100 bagazillion dollars! What do you do with it? Ah! It's so heavy!!! Take some! Wait, no...you tell me what you're gonna do with it first. Aw, I gotta get to the bank, then devise a plan...but I might stop for coffee and dessert on the way now that I can afford it...

Who do you most admire and why? My parents. They're lovely. They love life. They also helped make me.

What do you think you might do after IslandWood? More studies. Work. Play. Both at once?

Shoutout time! Any awesome organizations that you think deserve to be mentioned? UNC-Asheville Outdoors. Outward Bound NC.

A Look Back at Arts Integration

2011-03-06T20:52:00.000-08:00

Laura captivates the crowd with admirable storytelling skills!

Only one week is left in the quarter and time is flying by! Arts Integration was a great experience. With Hillary as our instructor, we were guided through innovative, creative and motivational lessons. We took a trip to Olympic Sculpture Park a couple of weeks ago and expressed ourselves through haikus.

The park and a sculpture overlooking the Puget Sound

So many shapes!

Enjoying a beautiful day in Seattle from many perspectives

What a nice tree!

Friday marked the end of the road for Arts Integration. Our final projects were shared in the Great Hall - and everyone was invited. I am in awe of how creative and unique our grad class is! Stories were performed, poetry was shared, lessons were sampled, photos and videos were shown, drawings and other works were displayed, and music was heard. All of it was incredible.

Cassie shows Ian how to beat the chlorophyll out of a leaf! Zowie!

First portion of the gallery walk. Danny displays her incredible 10-day journey with poetry and photos from Bainbridge Island. Kasey talks about her original lesson creation on tessellation, and down at the end, Amanda shares her 10-day journey with food through watercolors, while Blake shares 10-days of haikus capturing his relationship with water!

Chris shares his victory with poetry

Second half of the gallery walk: Amanda shares her original lesson on leaf prints, Adam shares sketches from a 10-day spiritual journey, Bonnie shares her 10-day relationship with birds, Clarissa with song, and Cornelia with haikus of her dog-walking adventures!

Laura shows off a sword fern print!

JP stands beside her 10-day relationship with picking up trash - so cool!

Ashley talks to Hillary about her grad community-inspired work

Just for an added bonus, please enjoy the next photo of grads letting out some energy during a workshop with Jessica last month! Surprise!

Amazing.

Get to Know a Grad!

2011-03-03T12:57:00.000-08:00

Editor's Note: This is the third installment of the semi-regular Get to Know a Grad feature! Enjoy!

Name: Chuck Janovick

Hometown: Twin Ports of Lake Superior

Undergraduate University/Degree: I have a degree in Outdoor Education/recreation from the University of Minnesota Duluth.

What brought you to IslandWood? I'm at IW because I love to teach especially about the outdoors.

What is your favorite thing about IslandWood so far? Getting to work with such a diverse student population.

What is your favorite thing about Bainbridge Island/Seattle/The Puget Sound so far? Being by the water and the mountains.

Who would you want to play you in the movie version of your life? I would like to see Dumbledore play my since I did such a good job being him for Halloween.

Quick! Someone gave you 100 bagazillion dollars! What do you do with it? Buy the most magnificent land ever maybe an Island and let all my friends and family live there with me then give the rest to charity.

Who do you most admire and why? My wife because she is smart, strong willed and always puts family first.

What do you think you might do after IslandWood? I just hope that I'll be teaching in some capacity.

Final thoughts? Always follow your heart!

IslandWood Rides the 38th Annual Chilly Hilly!

2011-02-28T00:21:00.000-08:00

The IslandWood crew get ready for some chilly hills!
(Roxann, Emily, Cornelia, Jeff, Wak-Wak, Clancy, Ray and Ian)

The name sure did not lie. The temperature hovered around 40 degrees today, and if you were lucky, you experienced rain and snow! Over 2,500 feet of hills were tackled during the 33-mile ride around Bainbridge Island. About 3,700 bikers joined the crowd this year, including a handful of motivated IslandWooders!

Very important to stay hydrated!

We stayed together for the first half hour (the rule was: do not pass Wak-Wak until we get to Bay Hay and Feed) and enjoyed some encouragement from IW supporters. (Thanks J.P., Ronnie, Mac and everyone else who cheered us on!) There were lots of cheerful spectators along the way as well as spectacular views of the Sound and Seattle that I didn't even know existed on Bainbridge!

Resting and regrouping at Bay Hay and Feed (a Bainbridge landmark that didn't quite make it into the photo)

A perfect time for toe-warmers!

Wak-Wak makes a friend at Frog Rock

The event was an incredible experience. Not an easy 33 miles by any means, some of us opted for an abbreviated Mini-Chilly Hilly this time around. We headed over to one of our off-campus grad's digs to enjoy a lovely afternoon of grilling out and warming up. There's always next year... :)

Cheers to Ray and Ian (Clancy too!) for battling all 33 miles!

Taking the Reins on Research

2011-01-29T01:31:00.000-08:00

Brownie gives a thumbs-up to research in the bog!

EEC Grads have been conducting new and exciting field investigations over the past few months. As part of our Natural History and Ecology course, we chose a topic that we wanted to learn more about - and with the help of our teachers Karen and Greg (and many other people, in some cases!) we have designed field studies to [attempt to] answer questions relating to these varying subjects.

A rare peek at Mac's Pond from the north end

Some areas of study include coyote scat, most frequently seen mushrooms on campus, IW's bog (or is it a bog?), otter tracking, and Pacific chorus frogs, just to name a few. We have come across challenges, successes, and in most cases, several changes.

Bog enthusiasts Christina and James help with field work

This particular blog entry features photos from two investigations. Laura Goff, Lauren Brown, and Amanda Zvirblis are studying the plants in IslandWood's "bog" to determine if indeed it is a true bog. (Word on the street says it may be a phen!!) Ali Parizer and Kathie Bradford are tracking river otters and collecting scat by Mac's Pond.

Laura records data

Amanda shows off her makeshift waterproofing

Footsteps in a unique sphagnum ecosystem

Bonnie saves the day!

Team Bog, wet and happy!

Now for some otter investigations...

Kathie is all smiles....

...even in ankle deep muck!

"Presenting to you...otter poo!"

Ali scoops some otter scat into a bag!

Kathie takes photos of all the excitement!

What's for dinner?

Some grads have been getting so into their research that there are thoughts to extend Natural History projects into Independent Study Projects for Spring Quarter. It will be exciting to see these inquiries unfold!

IW Goes on a Field Trip!

2011-01-23T17:41:00.000-08:00

Ali splashes around in the Cascades

Last weekend, IslandWood grads took a trip to the North Cascades Institute (NCI) to rendezvous with NCI, Wilderness Awareness School (WAS), and Olympic Park Institute (OPI) grads. We met some great people and got some new perspectives in environmental education.

The action began on the drive up into the Cascades. We stopped to relish the beauty of a roadside waterfall.

A lovely detour!

Chuck, a true wilderness man

Amanda and Lauren enjoy a refreshing mist

Waterfalls bring out Chris' animal instincts

Once at NCI, we unpacked our bags and toured the campus. We then had a lovely, fresh, local, and delicious burrito dinner. Lauren surprised the group with her famous rendition of "Oreo, Oreo, Oreo Cookie!" during dessert - which indeed included Oreos. Dinner was followed by some fun ice-breaker games!

Establishing our sense of place

Lauren wows the crowd. Here she is singing/yelling the line: "Rip off the top and lick out the middle!"

We're such a supportive community

Showing off some skills during group challenges

The games continue

Unwinding after a long day

The next day, IW grads joined the other groups in breakout sessions. We learned more about identifying plants in the winter, the history of Ross Dam (and photography too!), animal tracking, the art of being a naturalist, and nature journaling. The rain wouldn't slow down - but we made the most of it!

Getting a closer look at some tracks in the snow

A foggy look at Diablo Lake

Really excited about Ross Dam!

The view below was spectacular!

Afternoon sessions went on while keeping a close eye on flooding and the possibility of landslides. Afterwards, half of the IslandWood crew decided not to test their luck and left before nightfall. It earned them an award for "Most Responsible".

Sourdough Creek gushes!

All IW'ers got home safely! The group that stayed the extra night were able to get to know the other grads a bit more, had a campfire and learned some new songs, and during the awards ceremony Chuck earned "Best Pants". The rest of the group earned "Sticking it Out".

Music jam on the last night

The pants that earned Chuck his award. (Corduroy, patchwork and camouflage - in case you couldn't tell)

Some of the obstacles faced on the way home:

Fallen rocks (ie. mini-boulders)

Puddles (ie. mini-ponds)

Team Brave show off their "Sticking it Out" award!

All things considered, the weekend was a success! Grads got to connect with like-minded, caring, and fun individuals. In February, IslandWood will visit the Wilderness Awareness school. Shortly after, the grads from these amazing environmental education centers will get to visit our campus - where we will get to show them all of the great things that have made IslandWood grads feel that there is nowhere in the world they would rather be.

*Grads have been working hard on projects for our Natural History class. Stay tuned as we let you in on some of the exciting field work being done!

Get to Know a Grad!

2011-01-19T14:37:00.000-08:00

Editor's Note: This is the second installment of the semi-regular Get to Know a Grad feature! Enjoy!

Name: Danny Moloney

Hometown: Olympia, WA

Undergraduate University/Degree: Ecology, The Evergreen State College

What brought you to IslandWood? I wanted to learn how to be a phenomenal educator that worked to empower youth and protect the environment.

What is your favorite thing about IslandWood so far? The acres and acres of wild trails and the wildlife. Oh, I love the teams course too!

What is your favorite thing about Bainbridge Island/Seattle/The Puget Sound so far? I love riding the ferry and being near a large salty body of water. The views of the Cascade and Olympic ranges are out of this world as well.

Who would you want to play you in the movie version of your life? Johnny Depp or maybe Meg Ryan.

Quick! Someone gave you 100 bagazillion dollars! What do you do with it? Protect wildlands, help underprivileged groups of people get the housing, food and education that they deserve, and buy a horse ranch.

Who do you most admire and why? One person I admire is Jane Goodall for continuing to keep hope despite all she has seen that could easily push her to give up on her work and live in hopelessness. There are thousands more people that I admire though. I admire the kids that come to IslandWood. They are pretty remarkable.

What do you think you might do after IslandWood? I would like to work at an outdoor environmental education center.

New Year, New Cohorts, New Experiences

2011-01-17T09:30:00.000-08:00

Hello 2011!

We here at IslandWood are getting back into the swing of things and are very excited to see what this year has to offer.

Last week we team taught the students of Horizon Elementary. It was a nice way to dive back into to SOP before dividing up into our new Cohorts. Cohort C is going to teach this week while Cohort D works on projects, visits Liaison schools and gets a jump start on readings for class!

The students last week had a unique opportunity. Lukas Allenbaugh of the Clay Animation Network was on campus teaching the students all about the art of Claymation. The theme of the week was food and four field groups got to create characters, develop a story, and film scenes depicting the story of how a pizza is made. Check out the kids video:

Some of the instructors (including myself) didn't want to miss out on this opportunity. We stayed up pretty late after the kids were back in the lodges for night working on our own masterpiece:

Lets just say that we had a LOT of fun. I have a totally new found respect for Claymation- it isn't easy!

Roxann made a video as well but that might have to wait for another week...

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Talk to you soon!

Bonnie

It's been real 2010!

2010-12-25T21:04:00.000-08:00

Decked out in '80s gear on our final teaching day of the quarter

I realize we haven't had any posts this month (minus the profile of Adam...) - so first off, apologies! Secondly, this month has been a whirlwind. I cannot believe we're done! We finished off the quarter with an amazing week of team teaching. We had an unforgettable debrief lunch full of laughs, cries, DELICIOUS food and plenty of surprises - including but not limited to an impromptu "flash dance" for none other than the birthday girl, Ms. Bonnie Anderson. (Here's a link from her own blog capturing a bit of that chaos:
http://bonnieonislandwood.blogspot.com/2010/12/birthday-surprise.html ) We said our good-byes with a karaoke-filled, Secret Lover (think: Secret Santa) gift exchange in the Great Hall.

Taking care of business during debrief lunch


Gift Exchange in the Great Hall


Jem-bay and karaoke - what a combo!

I feel so honored :)

Campus is pretty quiet right now. There are a few stragglers awaiting flights and such (including me) - but for the most part, everyone has departed for holiday celebrations and well deserved down-time at other locales. It will be a couple of weeks of reflecting and recharging - but it will also be a couple of weeks apart from the people whom we have spent three intense months with.

This quarter has been an incredible experience. We have all learned so much about ourselves, teaching, and one another. I am so excited to see what the new year has in store for us!

Warm wishes to all for a family and fun-filled holiday! See y'all in 2011!

*I wrote this entry while I was still on Bainbridge Island. I am now back in Brooklyn enjoying some great times with family and friends. Merry Christmas!

Get to Know a Grad!

2010-12-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of entries that will continue throughout the year. We will feature a different grad every few weeks. Enjoy! -Bonnie

Adam Talamentes. Class of 2011.

Name: Adam Talamantes

Hometown: Burbank, CA

Undergraduate University/Degree: University of Colorado at Boulder, Ecology and Evolution - emphasis in Mammology

What brought you to IslandWood? The ability to teach what I love, learn more science, joining a loving community and the ability continue on to a great university.

What is your favorite thing about IslandWood so far? How we are all doing what we love.

What is your favorite thing about Bainbridge Island/Seattle/The Puget
Sound so far? This area has a lot to offer! So much to do every weekend, art, music, social gatherings, beer fests, etc!

Who would you want to play you in the movie version of your life? A young Sean Connery (007 style).

Quick! Someone gave you 100 bagazillion dollars! What do you do with it?
Put a location specific themed aquarium in every high school as a learning resource/reading area.

Who do you most admire and why? My fellow grads who want to do what I do and work for the same goals, but in COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WAYS!

What do you think you might do after IslandWood? Setup curriculum for Informal education institutions (Zoos/Aquariums) and help to build their relationships with the local communities! (maybe do some research on the side too)

Shoutout time! Any awesome organizations that you think deserve to be
mentioned? Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach California - They do great work their and truly love the creatures they work with!

Final thoughts? The North West has the best beer in the United States, true fact.

Giving Thanks!

2010-11-30T00:51:00.000-08:00

Blair (IslandWood Grad '09! What!!) poses with Ruthie Jane

Bonnie mentioned a little something about snow in the last blog post - which sure was a blast! All of that snow was followed by insane winds - and up until Wednesday during SOP instructors' debrief lunch, IslandWood campus (and all of Kitsap county for some time) was without power! There was much excitement and maybe a wee bit o' worry - but like errthing around here, it only made us closer. Lucky for us, power was back just in time!

We got pretty fancy...(That's native Salal around the pumpkins in case you were wondering.)

Some people missed out on Snowpocalypse 2010, but they were here in spirit. Many more were here in real-life! We had one of our grad's entire family join us from Kansas (Grandma, Mom, Dad, Brother...), a past grad do an amazing job on this year's turkey (Ruthie Jane), and two IslandWood kiddos (staff's kids, not SOP kids...) in our Commons and the Lodge for the Thanksgiving feast! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Emily and Chris some show holiday spirit!

Ashley coddles the cranberry sauce

Words cannot describe. I'll say it again, words cannot describe.

So much family <3

Having fun!

Full bellies, empty plates

Not too full for a Scotcheroo! (Thanks, Christina!)

Words cannot describe. I repeat. Words can. not. describe.

What's Thanksgiving without a little board-game fun!

Plotting against Grandma

Grandma fights back - and wins!

Bubbles blown? Fun had by all!

*Pre Thanksgiving bonus*

Generator on campus = grad sleepover in a kid cabin :)

IslandWood? More like SNOW-landWood!

2010-11-23T12:17:00.000-08:00

Snow has come to IslandWood!

It started falling on Sunday and fell all day yesterday. I thought this place was beautiful before but- let me tell you- with snow, it is more magical than Hogwarts, Narnia and Middle Earth COMBINED!*

The students that are here this week are having a very different type of adventure in the woods. I am in the middle of a non-teaching week and walked around to take some pictures yesterday.

Enough talking- check out the winter wonderland that is IslandWood's campus!

Grad Cabin in the Snow!

No Sword Fern was safe from a layer of snowy-goodness.

Narnia. It looks just like Narnia. Right?

Can you see the Bog Tree House through the snow covered Bog?

A tree leans over a trail covered with snow.

It doesn't look like anyone will be sitting in the Chainsaw Chair anytime soon.

Snow Covered Suspension Bridge

View of the Ravine from the Suspension Bridge

The Learning Studios

Just for reference, this tree stump is at least 3 feet taller than me.

It doesn't look like anyone is going to be participating in any campfires in the very near future.

Today, the sun is shining and the snow is becoming a little ice-like. Things are still very, very beautiful however. Stay warm out there readers!

All Work and No Play Make Grads Dull Boys and Girls!

2010-11-20T18:18:00.000-08:00


Emily, Chris, and Theresa wilin' out on the WA coast!

Amanda and Lin-Z become WA residents (thrilling!)

With so many plates spinning clumsily in the air, one would think that the EEC Grads have no time for extra-curricular fun. I think many of us feel a tinge of guilt when we are out on the town or exploring the vast neighboring wilderness, but we are strong....we get by. We work hard and we play hard. Sometimes saying no kills a little bit of our souls – but that happens too. (We are still responsible, you know...) Today, and later this week, many of us will be heading home or elsewhere to visit friends and family over the holiday break. Some of us will be staying here and celebrating with our more local family – either option being a great one. So, in the spirit of superfunhappytimes, I'm delighted to give you a glimpse into another side of grad life.

Weezer at the 40th annual Bumbershoot Festival

Born Ruffians @ Chop Suey

Music is huge in Seattle. Most people know this. We have taken as much advantage of this fact as possible. Bumbershoot welcomed us into this fine city with old-school headliners such as Weezer, Hole, and Against Me!, not to mention tons of acts rockin' the other stages. Countless talents keep us riding the ferry and spending our cash in the name of sweet dancin' tunes. We are even able to check out some local talents on Bainbridge including bluegrass bands and even DJ Z who keeps it real with the 90's hits we all enjoy reliving. Lucky for us, we also entertain ourselves with the musical talent that is spread thick amongst the grads.

Theresa, Kathie, Ashley, JP, and Emily before seeing Jack Johnson @ the Gorge

Manu Chao @ the Paramount


Sallie Ford @ Tractor Tavern


Black Keys @ Paramount


Adam, Chris DS, and Ian showing off their Forest Chorus skills at IW's Open Mic Night

Who is the real Clancy?

Halloween was taken to the extreme. Pumpkins were carved. Some people partook in the Rocky Horror tradition with a live show here on Bainbridge. Treats at the Lodge and Commons were shared generously. Most of us celebrated with a rad costume party. Fun was had by all.

Dumbledore and La Roux rock out in the Commons

Gangsta Panda, Lost survivor, Unicorn, Bottle of Champagne

Zombie Snowboarders

Chris has a turn with the unicorn

Birthdays are a mandatory excuse to have fun! Four grads celebrated their special days this week alone! Whether the kitchen makes a delicious cake, or the grads do - a quiet dinner, or a dance party - we show our love :)

Danny celebrates her birthday earlier this month with some delicious Vietnamese food!

Ian gets a cupcake to the head back in September

Emily parties like a Viking!

Marymere Falls with out-of-town friends, Olympic NP

We do go to a “School in the Woods,” therefore it should be no surprise that we like to play in them! Grads can be found hiking around many trails on Bainbridge, including those at IslandWood and the beautiful Grand Forest. Mt. Walker, Mt. Townsend, hot springs, and waterfalls, are some of the beauties we have experienced in Olympic National Park. We've explored the Buckhorn Wilderness outside of the park and even some of the stunning beaches right near our homes.

Chuck, Montana (Lauren), Priya, and honorary grad Kaiya in the Buckhorn Wilderness


Clarissa, Chris, Emily, and me atop Mt. Townsend, Olympic NP

Standing tall @ the Hoh Rainforest

It's hard to keep up with all of the grads' adventures. Last night, some were off experiencing the epic [almost]ending to Harry Potter, while others were checking out a cabaret show in downtown Seattle! Tonight may call for some contra dancing. Whether we're checking out a farm, shooting some pool, being Seattle tourists, or having some alone time in the mountains or at home with a good book, it's refreshing to be surrounded by such a great group of people who take school and work seriously, but also know how to LIVE!

Roxann and Kasey (roomies!) and friends @ Theo Chocolate Factory

Theresa, Emily, and Chris in a corn maze!

The Amandas, ready for a cocktail party

Theresa, Chris, and Clarissa ride Emily to victory at an ultimate frisbee tourney in Oregon

Adam makes friends at karaoke

Ali and Cassie show off their putt putt skillz


One of many cooking parties at the Commons (Lemongrass shrimp spring rolls ::drool::)

The Troll under the bridge

An amazing city! (We sure are lucky...)

Non Teaching Weeks (AKA No Kids but just as busy weeks)

2010-11-11T12:49:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

As Roxann mentioned in our last post, my task this week is to give you a little insight into what happens when we aren't teaching. By now, I am sure you have reread our first couple of entries (and maybe even glanced further back and read about the adventures of last year's cohort) and know the intimate details of our operation BUT I am going to sum it up for you anyways.

Our class is divided into two cohorts. When your cohort is teaching SOP, you are pretty much booked solid for the entire week.

When you are not teaching, you have a more flexible schedule but are still...you know...busy.

The Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays of our non-teaching weeks are intentionally left open so we have the opportunity to visit our Liaison Schools. We are each assigned 2-3 schools in the region to build a relationship with before and after their visit. The goal is to connect the adventures here to things back home.

Last week was one of my non-teaching weeks and I visited Eagle Rock Multi-Age School in Duvall, WA. I got to take the Frog Car (the IslandWood Car that gets quite a few double takes because of the large animal decals plastered all over it) and meet the students who will be coming to IslandWood in the Spring.

Guess why we call this the "Frog Car."

I introduced them to some of the IslandWood lingo (Banana, Banana, Banana! Slug, Slug, Slug!) and we completed an Ecosystem Mural. It gave me a chance to see the students in their "natural habitat" and gave them a chance to learn a little more about this place.

Ecosystem Mural (Please note the Zebra that is definitely native to the Puget Sound Region)

School visits can take the form of lessons, games, experiments or information sessions where students can get those nagging questions off of their chests ("What if a bear chases us?" "Don't worry," says the liaison in a reassuring voice, "Bears only like 7th graders."*)

Other things that take up our time in our non-teaching weeks are working a variety of jobs around campus, contacting the outside world and, you know, studying.

Blake learns!

We have class every Thursday night and all day Friday so it is a common sight to see Grad students attempting to read at any and all times (laundry, dinner, jogging, etc.)

Currently, we are taking courses on Child Development, the History of Environmental Education and Science Methods. In my humble opinion, one of the coolest things about this program is the ability to learn about concepts in class and apply them directly to instruction the following teaching week. There is a super supportive Education Team that is always there to assist and encourage us.

We are currently in the middle of a mid-quarter professional development week. There are no students here so both cohorts have been reunited for the entire week (and it feels so good). We have been attending workshops on learning styles, planning techniques, curriculum mapping and so much more.

We are quickly learning that things are very much "go go go" in this program but, luckily, we wouldn't want it any other way.

It isn't all work and no play, however. Roxann will tell you a little more about the fun we have together in her next post.

Keep your chins up and smiles on your faces!

Until next time,

Bonnie

P.S. Keep your eye out for our "Get to know a Grad" feature that should be making it's debut pretty soon!

*Just kidding- there are no bears at IslandWood. Please don't start that rumor.

A Glimpse Into SOP!

2010-11-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

Kathie gets kids pumped at the Pond Shelter.

The heart of the EEC program and the most valuable learning experience for us as educators in the field comes in the form of The School Overnight Program. (Or, as our acronym laden world calls it: SOP) SOP is pure craziness. From Monday-Thursday every week until June, between 50 and 200 kids rule campus. At any given moment you can hear instructors and kids singing songs on the trail, catch a glimpse of a kid neatly disguised by a huge sword fern during a game of Camouflage, or spot a team proudly displaying marks of victory from our famed Lightning Tree after success on the teams course. The grad class is divided into two groups. Until December we are Cohort A (Awesome) and Cohort B (Bomb Diggity!).

Smiling faces on the Suspension Bridge

Our first SOP experience as instructors was through team teaching. Here, two grads took on the week with six to 12 kids in tow, teaching them all about the ecosystem here at IslandWood. Since that first week, we have been able to run our own show (with much guidance and help from one another and the Ed staff). We have encountered feelings of pure joy and happiness, but have also been tested and frazzled on certain days. Cohort A has rocked it twice, proudly finishing their second week this past Thursday. Today, Cohort B welcomes fourth, fifth, and sixth graders from First Place School, View Ridge, and Terrace Park.

Blake and Ashley debrief Owls, Mice, and Seeds

While every instructor’s style and plan differs, there are many common themes set forth throughout the week. (Prepare for more acronyms…) We
introduce students to the ABC’s and the LAWS of nature. While using inquiry and engaging the kids in fun activities, we teach about the abiotic factors in nature (L=light, A=air, W=water, S=soil) that allow biota to exist. We point out the many cultural influences affecting the things in either category, and expand on these concepts each day by participating in garden activities, exploring macro invertebrates from the pond or soil, visiting historically rich Blakely Harbor and Blakely Cemetery, letting kids teach one another about the various plants and trees on the island with the help of Each One Teach One cards, or by playing an action packed game of Owls, Mice, and Seeds. This list barely makes a dent in the amazing IslandWood curriculum we are able to offer the students who visit, but includes some of the popular choices among instructors.

Meet-a-Tree in action

We keep the kids busy up until they depart on Thursday afternoon, and make the most of their time here not only by having them out in the field each day from 9:30 to 4pm, but by engaging them in nighttime activities as well. Kids go on night hikes, where you can experience anything from learning about the fascinating phenomenon of triboluminescence to hearing the amazing sounds of sea lions all the way from the harbor. Students also participate in nighttime activities indoors, breaking into groups to engage in an action packed Ecological Challenge or a fun and unique Science Fair. On Wednesday night, everyone gathers for a campfire at the Friendship Circle where students (and instructors) sing songs, perform skits, play instruments, tell jokes, dance, or in some cases, do a combination of all these things.

[Maybe a bit much...] Lightening Tree face-paint

When you are not teaching, you have Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (Thursday and Friday we ALL have class) free to visit schools that you will be a liaison for. Liaisons build relationships with schools coming to IslandWood and get them pumped for their SOP experience. Liaisons usually do not teach the week their schools come to IslandWood. They are doing such other things as attending to frantic calls on the radio for a “Code Yellow” (use your imagination), redirecting mildly lost groups, handing out special dietary meals during dinner, or juggling anything else that you can imagine to make sure the week runs smoothly. This week one of the three liaisons decided to shave her head and reveal it during the debrief lunch for a “jaw dropping!” moment that they had been talking about throughout the week. This is a perfect example of how unpredictable things can get here at IslandWood. Bonnie will follow up on this with next week’s entry, which will be all about the fun stuff we get up to when we are not teaching, taking classes, or complaining about the endless mounds of reading and assignments that we are putting off.

Danny preps Clarissa for the "jaw dropping" moment at the SOP Debrief lunch.

The Long Awaited First Entry from the Class of 2011!

2010-10-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

If your excitement level is anywhere near where ours was at this time last year – you’ve likely been refreshing this page every 30 seconds in anticipation of the Class of 2011’s first blog entry. Where are all of these graduate students? Did they get lost in the woods? Eaten by a barred owl? Did they give up already?! Calm down, champ. We’ve been really busy.

Since our official arrival on August 24^th we have been fully immersed in everything IslandWood. We are 28 students from all around the country, with a variety of backgrounds, interests, and personalities. We are all here to participate in IslandWood’s Education, Environment, and Community (EEC) Program. Our orientation month has been jam packed with a variety of activities aiding us in developing a sense of place here on campus.

We’ve gotten to know the IslandWood community through team building activities, staff picnics, cultural history classes, and the time proven method of spending A LOT of time on campus. We have gotten to know IslandWood’s environment through solo hikes, geocaching, natural history classes, and (read this as though you are an old timey prospector) good ol’ fashioned exploration.

As the weeks went on, we became certified in Wilderness First Aid, observed some (amazing) IslandWood Alumni in the field, and did everything we could to make sure that we were prepared for our first week of team teaching during the School Overnight Program (SOP).

Half of us have already completed our first week of solo teaching (which we will tell you more about later) and the other half are about to embark. We are beyond excited to be in this remarkable place and know that this will be an important year of growth for us all.

We hope to update this blog at least once a week and are planning on helping you get to know the Class of 2011 by profiling individual Grads throughout the year. So grab your canteens and slip into those rain pants* because we are in for an adventure.

Love forever and for always, Bonnie and Roxann

*This is also most effective in an old timey prospector’s voice.

Coming to a Close....

2010-06-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

The year is wrapping up. Both cohorts have finished their last weeks of solo teaching. The only things that lie between us and graduation are a week of team teaching and presenting our independent study projects, non-profit management projects, and portfolios.

In these last couple weeks, many of us have been doing some final reflections on what this year has meant to us. We have turned in official assignments to our instructors and mentors in which we have reflected on our growth as an educator, but we have also been chatting casually around the Commons and over cups of iced chai teas at the Treehouse Café down the hill about how much we have grown in all realms of life this year. Although everyone is taking their own unique lessons from their IslandWood experience, many of us feel like we have grown monumentally as educators, members of a small community, and personally.

As educators we have been pushed to try approaches we've never tried before, worked with kids who have had life experiences that make it very difficult for them to be in a new environment like IslandWood, and debriefed our experiences, both successful and unsuccessful a million times with our peers, mentors, and instructors to seize all the possible opportunities for growth.

As members of a small community, we have had to figure out how to be with the same 29 people practically 24/7. We live together, we eat together, we work together, we take classes together, and we socialize together. We've been in quite the IslandWood bubble all year, which has brought its fair share of frustrations, but more important are the laughs and the compromises and the ways we have learned to understand one another. Even after long days of teaching and very little sleep, we have learned to love each other despite our quirks and flaws and to be patient with one another as we all try to figure out our lives.

And even with the due dates for our big projects looming and a long year of work and growth on our backs, we still find time to jump out of the bubble and savor the occasional ice cream cone at Mora's in Winslow or dance to groovy beats at the Folklife Festival in Seattle.

John Muir Elementary

2010-05-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

Before we knew it, they were gone! Last week was a whirlwind of students, teachers, chaperones, and instructors. John Muir arrived in three busses ready to take on the great outdoors at Islandwood. The school community at John Muir Elementary is unlike many other public schools, and was absolutely beautiful for me to witness. As they were leaving on Thursday a teacher who stayed with my group for the entirety of the week referring to her students as “baby”, “sweetie”, and “precious”, hugged me and shouted, “I feel like we bonded”. It was so nice to hear because we had bonded in the same way that she has bonded with each and every one of her students, she cares if they succeed and that is what makes all the difference!

I was granted the privilege to spend the week with nine 5th graders, six girls and three boys from John Muir Elementary. On day one we completed the human knot, (a team building activity where you get them into a circle and they hold hands with people across from them knotting themselves up. The key is to become unknotted without ever letting go) with flying colors. During our debrief, without any prompt from me one of the girls in my group stated, “You know, this game is like my life because if I just jump into things without thinking, I may have regrets. But if I take my time and think things through before I do them, I can’t have regrets”. I was dumbfounded, it was such an insightful outlook from such a young little girl and I was so proud to be standing with her in that moment.

The Human Knot set the tone for our entire week. I had already planned to have a theme of perspectives that week. We talked quite a bit about looking at things or people through their eyes or by “walking a mile in their shoes” so to speak. The students took to the assignment immediately and we began right away by writing stories from the perspective of something in nature. On Tuesday we visited the cemetery and the students settled down next to a gravestone that “spoke to them”. They wrote beautifully detailed stories about that person’s life from their perspective, even citing historical events like The Great Depression and World War Two. On Wednesday we continued the theme by writing perspective stories while in the lab, focusing on the macro-invertebrates sitting in our petri-dishes.

On Thursday we completed our week of perspectives in the garden, looking as closely as we could at flowers, stems, vegetables, and caterpillars with small magnifying glasses. The students drew and colored amazing pictures of their object and added analogy poetry on the backside. The activity was quiet as they were each studying their own object but there was a hum of excitement as they each discovered new idiosyncrasies about things they see on a regular basis.

It's as tiny as a bug, as smooth as a rock, as soft as a newborn kitten, and it is as strong as metal. It may be small but it is the best of the bunch!

As a final plug, there is a new documentary being unveiled concerning the state of our education system and I urge everyone to attend a showing in his or her city. If after you are enraged, please visit your next school board meeting. The movie is titled Waiting for Superman and it is showing at the Seattle Film Festival on June 4 and June 5.

Days Gone By

2010-05-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

With only four weeks left before graduation, the grads are busy writing papers, building portfolios and tying up loose ends with other final projects. In our Non-profit Management class, many grads are learning the grant writing process for a project that involves partnering with local non-profit organizations to write and submit proposals for funding. Grant writing is a detailed, intensive process, but for many grads who want to pursue non-profit work, the learning experience will prove worthwhile. Others are helping non-profits construct business and strategic plans to facilitate organizational growth. Non-profit Management is a good course for those interested in learning more about the inner workings of non-profits and also for those interested in pursuing informal education opportunities.

Many grads continue to make progress on their Independent Study Projects (ISPs). At IslandWood, ISPs present the opportunity to focus on individual areas of interest. I am working with five other grads and partnering with Seattle Parks and Recreation to help high school students tell their personal stories of stewardship through various artistic media. Working on this ISP has already presented opportunities to connect with the Seattle community, and I've been able to participate in beach clean-ups and public park beautifications. Next year, some of the IslandWood grads will continue to work with this Seattle Parks and Rec. program to shape Master's projects as part of the graduation requirements.

In the midst of all the projects and papers, we've somehow managed to remember to have a little fun. Last weekend, the grads gathered at the commons for an impromptu barbeque. Complete with games, food and fire, the gathering allowed the grads to relax and reminisce about the last year and how quickly it has gone by. With only four weeks left, we'd all like to have a little more time for barbequing, but we're also looking forward to the next step!

Dinner in the Woods and An Adventure in the Woods!

2010-05-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

After a year of planning, IslandWood's biggest annual fundraiser, Dinner in the Woods, was celebrated on Saturday. This was an all-hands-on-deck event, with every member of IslandWood's staff and almost all of the grads pitching in to help serve food, set-up, entertain the kids, check coats, photograph, schmooze, and clean-up. About 400 guests were ushered onto IslandWood's campus for the evening.

As they mingled before the banquet, many grads and other helpers presented them with trays of mouthwatering appetizers including such IslandWood originals as sunchoke fritters with onion jam drizzled with balsamic reduction and sour cream, rabbit empanadas, oyster shooters over a bed of smooth stones, and polenta squares with gorgonzola spread, sweet olive paste, and toasted sage leaves. The dining hall field was transformed the week before the event into a grand platform tent for the banquet (see video of the tent being built here) and decorated with elegant mint green table cloths and potted native plants available for the guests to bring home afterwards.

At around 6:30, the guests were seated and served a feast of roasted lamb, arctic char (a sustainably-raised fish with qualities of both salmon and halibut), asparagus, and a pilaf of ancient grains. As the foods delighted their taste buds, the guests bid on grandiose auction items like trips to Costa Rica and a custom glass sculpture by Preston Singletary, who also happened to be present at the dinner. A 5th grade student who had come to the School Overnight Program just a few weeks prior gave a brief speech about his experience, a teacher who has brought her classes to IslandWood for years told of its effect on her students, and a board member told about his perceptions of the program. After learning about all the remarkable things IslandWood does, the guests participated in Raise-the-Paddle, where they donated high sums out of the goodness of their hearts. This was incredible to see, knowing that each donation made was going to make it possible for more students to experience nature like never before. Dinner in the Woods was quite an extravaganza, and it was amazing to play a role in such an important part of IslandWood's future. Even though many of us worked late into the night clearing tables and cleaning the tent and kitchen, there was a sense of satisfaction and camaraderie that accompanied the feeling of a job well done for a good cause.

Today, Cohort E had a Natural History Super Monday session. While natural history courses at other schools might involve sitting in a classroom watching a powerpoint presentation or even walking around outside while the professor points out the leaf shapes of certain plant families, IslandWood's natural history classes are much more adventurous than that! Today, we tromped through the thick forest in a corner of IslandWood rarely seen by humans, down below the Teams Course.

We investigated new plants that are sprouting up with the warm spring sunshine like star flower, cascara, trillium, fringe cup, and spiny wood fern. We stared snails in the eye, or rather the tentacula, and swung from invasive ivy vines.

We crawled into the mouth of a glacial erratic shaped like a giant snapping turtle, and slid down slick muddy slopes. We discovered steep gullies, seas of stinging nettle, two coyote dens, deer bones, two western red-backed salamanders, a stalactite-like fungus, huge old-growth stumps, moss-draped big leaf maples, a dead shrew, all 7 kinds of ferns that grow at IslandWood, and a murky vernal pool.

Speaking of murky vernal pools...
Charlie decided to earn a quick twenty bucks from the rest of us by bellyflopping into one of them!

See what I mean by adventurous natural history classes?
I love IslandWood!

An incredible journey!

2010-04-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

With only eight weeks remaining until graduation, only four of which are teaching weeks, feelings of excitement, regret, sadness, and anticipation are settling in. This experience has been incredibly meaningful and rewarding and I know that I will take what I have learned at Islandwood with me into the next adventure of my life! The final quarter is upon all of us and our Independent Student Projects are at long last, underway! There has been talk of them for quite some time and a running joke of, “Yes, this great idea is going to be my ISP,” only to find that it inevitably changes the very next week.

The ISP’s vary extensively as you can choose anything that you fancy to work on while receiving credits for the hours you put in. I, for example, have decided as an amateur gardener, that I would like to gain more skills in that area. As such, I have found a beautiful yet lonely raised bed garden on the island housed at a Buddhist temple that hasn’t received any love in over three years. The monks are often away and have been kind enough to allow me to “move in” and make the space my own! Other graduate students are writing grants, building fire kits for future students, and working with the Boys and Girls Club in Seattle to make their program more earth friendly! The options are endless and many grads are finding the experience fulfilling and engaging as we are in control of the outcome.

The weather is turning and the sun is showing its face on a more regular basis. Today it shined for the entire day and it was warm enough for flip-flops, gardening and a doggy visit to the beach! The night hikes are actually becoming crepuscular creeps again (just as they were when the year began) and they do not hold the same daunting appeal as they used to! This past week, even at 8:15pm when I was dropping my students off at their lodges as the night hike was coming to an end, dusk sat motionless for an additional 20 minutes. In a rather forgetful moment of ease, I had preceded as usual with my night hike activities until they were brought to an absolute halt at the finale of my “magic rocks” story.

Magic rocks you inquire? Let me explain… the instructor tells an elaborate and jaw dropping tale about losing their way in the wilderness and darkness creeping upon them. They began to become frightened when all of a sudden a rock broke off in their hand that lit up and guided them all the way down the mountain safely. The instructor proceeds to tell the motionless and awe stricken students that they have brought some of the “magic rocks” back for them to try but to create the same light that appeared on that beautiful night, we must chew them with our mouths open. The students eagerly put out their hands awaiting the “magic rocks” they had only seen in the movies. Yet on this fateful evening the students attempted the task only to find that it was not dark enough to work and my story had been shamed! You see, the “magic rocks” are Wintergreen Lifesavers and the scientific process occurring is called triboluminesence… try it at home in a dark room, it works!

Wednesday arrived and with it a sore throat! BUMMER!!! If you have worked with children before, then you know the drill, if not, then start pumping your body full of nutritious goodies now to prepare your immune system! Sickness comes with the territory and many of us have had our bouts this year and had to take a day or three to recover! Luckily, I am feeling better and am extremely proud of all of the grads, we have worked incredibly hard this year and our journey is about to come to an end!

There's something fishy going on around here...

2010-04-12T19:56:00.001-07:00

Over the last few weeks, we've been fortunate to have been visited by professional, working artists and friends of IslandWood's School Overnight Program. Our Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program allows SOP students to participate in up to 2 hour sessions with the visiting artist. Throughout the year, artists visit the program and provide in-depth instruction to a handful of field groups throughout the week. Visiting artists come to IslandWood from a variety of backgrounds and specialize in many disciplines, including printmaking, drumming, poetry and song writing, weaving and others.

Last week, we were visited by Larry Telles, an artist and fish biologist with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, Larry and his team met with six field groups and introduced the students to a unique form of printmaking in which students used real salmon to paint and lift prints. While seemingly unconventional at first, students quickly warmed to the technique and created some vibrant and detailed prints. Larry's method involves a real salmon (either fresh or previously preserved by freezing) that is laid on its side and painted with acrylic paints. Then a sheet of paper is placed over the fish and pressed by hand. When the paper is removed, the color salmon print is lifted onto the paper.

In addition to teaching the students about fish printing, Larry also talked to them about his role as the Project Leader at the Eagle Creek National Fish Hatchery in Northwestern Oregon. With more than 30 years of experience in the field, Larry has worked with fish hatcheries throughout the Pacific Northwest and is knowledgeable about multiple species of salmon and other fish. During their sessions with Larry, the students learned about salmon life cycles and their roles within our culture and ecosystems.

Artists like Larry help our SOP students explore the ways in which science and art are both interconnected and extremely valuable to our learning environment. We look forward to continuing our relationship with AIRs!

A Weekend at Wilderness Awareness School

2010-04-11T21:45:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, instructors from IslandWood and North Cascades Institute (NCI) converged at Wilderness Awareness School (WAS) for the second portion of the exchange between the three programs. The first portion of the exchange was at NCI and can be read about here. It was good to see familiar faces from our weekend at NCI but this time, the scenery was a little different. Instead of tall snowy peaks gazing down at us, we were amidst mossy vine maples and tall cedars in a little pocket of forest right outside the town of Duvall. We had gathered some preliminary knowledge of WAS's programs from chatting with their instructors at NCI, so we knew that they took more of a "listen to the earth" approach than the other two programs, but we didn't know what we were in for when we arrived to spend the weekend there.

From the very beginning, their instructors helped us explore by engaging all of our senses and asking us questions to guide us to a deeper understanding. They taught us how to use owl eyes, fox feet, and deer ears in order to be aware of as much as possible around us. They encouraged us to slip off our shoes to truly feel the ground beneath us and walk even more silently, then, barefoot, we padded to find our own special place within the trees, a Sit Spot, from where we could observe the world around us. They took turns telling us the story of how Wilderness Awareness School came to be as we sat around a fire that had been started with a hand drill in a round hut called Malalo ya Chui, which means Lair of the Leopard.

We learned bird language, experienced the WAS questioning approach, discussed edible plants, and tried our hand at a 2-match fire. We had a pasta potluck that evening, complete with stinging nettle tomato sauce, and chatted while passing around one of the WAS instructors baby, Wilder. After dinner, we played games of stealth in front of the blazing wood stove, then a small group of us hiked through the darkness down to the pond to star gaze.

After a night spent shivering in my sleeping bag in below freezing temperatures, a cup of coffee and my enthusiasm to learn more about WAS's programming gave me energy to face the new day. Between sips of freshly brewed hemlock tea, a group of us learned how to make bow drill sets and sat whittling away around a fire until we all had our very own bow drill kits to bring home. While we made our kits, other groups tracked cougars, followed the beat of a drum blindfolded through the forest on a Drum Stalk, and explored the rest of WAS's land, called Linne Doran, meaning Pond of the Otter.

When all the groups finished, we came together to try making a coal using a giant bow drill kit. The drill was about 3 feet tall, so it took a lot of us to pull the rope wrapped around it back and forth to get the base board hot enough to form a coal. But we did it, and it was sure a sense of accomplishment! Before leaving, we had an enlightening conversation about the natural directions and the indicators of awareness within teaching. They're hard to explain, but in brief, they are part of an educational theory that is based on the natural tendencies of humans over the course of a day and the course of a program, including energy levels and times for reflection. I found a lot of truth in the theory and you can learn more about it in Coyote's Guide to Connecting with Nature, the book on everything WAS.

It was an incredible weekend and all of the IslandWood instructors who attended picked up new approaches to teaching that we have been weaving into our School Overnight Program lessons. I personally have started doing Sit Spots, animal senses, bird language, and a story of the day with my students, all of which I learned more about at WAS. The instructors from NCI, IslandWood, and WAS also formed a warm supportive community, the ties of which will hopefully hold strong into the future.

"See Ya Later, IslandWood" Song

2010-04-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

This is the chorus of "See Ya Later, IslandWood," a song written by Emily Jane Schankerman, one of the current IslandWood grads. We sing this song to the students every Thursday at the end of the closing Friendship Circle ceremony. The verses sum up much of the IslandWood experience in a reflective and joyful way, and the chorus that's captured in this video speaks to how uniquely special IslandWood is. This video was taken today as the four schools who were here, Silverwood, Breidablik, Children's School of Excellence, and the Attic Learning Community, wrapped up their week. Enjoy!

A New Season

2010-02-16T12:00:00.001-08:00

Last week, while many of our friends and families back east were digging their way out from several feet of snow, we here at IslandWood were very fortunate to have a week of mild, mostly dry weather. And for those of us who taught last quarter in what was eventually dubbed "cohort rain," the dry weather came as a much-needed relief.

As the days grow longer, signs of spring creep from within the forest and leave us hoping for more. A single banana slug sighting by grad instructor, Ann, and her field group, was the first in a long while. Meanwhile, several other field groups noticed tiny green buds emerging along the trails. For many field instructors, the first signs of spring provide motivation to try new lessons and activities. I teamed up with my fellow grad instructor, Nick, for a perspective storytelling lesson in the art studio. Both of our field groups sat by the fire as Nick read a collection of short stories told from the perspective of an organism in nature. After this bit of inspiration, the students ventured outside to choose the subject of their own perspective stories. After a bit of exploration time, the students returned to the art studio to begin crafting and illustrating their stories. A group sharing circle revealed that some produced short stories, while others crafted poems, but everyone created truly unique and artistic illustrations. For Nick and me, it was a great opportunity to collaborate and share a teaching experience with each other and all of our students.

Later in the week, after the school groups had said their goodbyes and ventured home, the rest of the grad instructors met for an informal lunch meeting regarding the upcoming spring quarter. One of the options for class credit is to complete an independent study project, or ISP. Taking the place of a traditional class, the ISP is an opportunity to study and create an in-depth project based on your own goals and interests. With assistance from a mentor, grad students can design their own ISP or choose from a list of suggested projects that include working with community organizations and/or other departments within IslandWood to produce a variety of programs and materials for future use. One example is to work with the Boys and Girls Club of King County to develop garden curriculum to be used within a wide range of their youth programming. Opportunities like this and others allows the IslandWood grads to foster relationships within the community while building their skills and knowledge of both formal and informal education and practices.

Cohort C is in the field this week, and due to Presidents' Day will teach for only three days instead of four. But next week Cohort D will return to a full week of teaching another group of lively students. As we progress through the year, we expect no shortage of valuable teaching and learning opportunities. More to come...

Bones and Printmaking

2010-02-01T22:02:00.000-08:00

Today was Super Monday!

Super Monday is what we call the supplemental training session we have for two hours on every Monday of our non-teaching weeks. The focus of these sessions varies. Back in the fall we explored the bog during a natural history Super Monday and we've also had sessions that have taught us about ways to use creative writing and rhythm in our teaching, bird call identification, and fun group management techniques. Super Mondays are always a blast and teach us very helpful skills to implement into our teaching.

Today was no exception. We were led by two of our naturalist instructors down to Mac's pond where we were told to trail-blaze around to the far side. Picking our way through prickly salmonberry branches and our boots sinking into decomposing logs, we hiked through a part of IslandWood we had never seen before. As we rounded up through the trees behind the grove of cattails, something white caught our eyes. There, nestled into the hemlock needles and moss on the forest floor, was an assortment of bones! Among them, a hip bone, a femur, and a skull. Upon closer inspection, our naturalist detective minds figured out they were the bones of a female deer. As we called out for our classmates to come look, a few of them hollered to us that they had found bones too! Lots of them! We scrambled through the brush and became wide-eyed when we came upon what they had found— it looked like a deer crime scene! There were many large femurs, jaw bones, pelvises, a couple strings of vertebrae, and three more skulls, one with sturdy antlers protruding from the top.

Our instructor Greg informed us that he had been scouting some sites to take our Natural History class last week and happened upon these bones. He told us that the other cohort had done some exploring during their Super Monday session last week, but that it was such an astonishing scene that he encouraged us to put on our detective caps and develop some theories to help solve the mystery. Practically before the last word left his lips, we scattered around the thickly wooded hillside, our eyes pinned to the ground in hopes of finding more evidence.
Within seconds, shouts started rising up from all over, "There are more bones over here!" "There's a fully connected leg under this tree!" "This skeleton still has muscle attached!" Sure enough, there were deer bones at various stages of decay strewn all over the forest. Some were hidden under draping sword ferns while others were lying open on top of stumps.

For some people, this scenario might have been a nightmare, but for environmental educators like us, it was fascinating! After about an hour of detective work, we regrouped to discuss our theories. Many of us concluded that the most likely cause of this scene was that people had been dumping roadkill over the hillside from the highway a couple hundred feet above us for quite some time, which wild animals like coyotes had then gnawed clean, but we're not sure. There are so many possibilities! One of the IslandWood grads is planning to do her independent study project at the site in the spring to continue excavating, map out all the bones and further investigate causes.

After retracing our steps back around the pond to the main trail, we hiked back to campus where most of us attended a professional development session with Mette Hanson, a well-known printmaker in the Pacific Northwest. IslandWood hosts Artists-in-Residence a few times every quarter who run workshops for kids and sometimes lead evening programs or performances. In December, we had African drummer extraordinaire Jah Breeze as an Artist-in-Residence, and in January we had poetry guru Vicky Edmonds. Although the primary focus of Artists-in-Residence is to work with the kids, they sometimes also offer professional development sessions for IslandWood staff and grads.

In today's session, we learned about the art of printmaking then got the opportunity to carve our own print blocks and roll on a variety of brightly colored inks to make a series of prints from our blocks. Needless to say, it was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon and all of the participants were very proud of their final prints. I love taking a break from the rest of my life to sit down and just let the creative juices flow.

At the beginning of the year, the grads were asked for input on what kinds of artists IslandWood should host this year and we had lots of ideas, but we'd love to hear yours! What kinds of art would you want your students to have the chance to experience?

Weekend Getaway to the North Cascades

2010-01-23T22:07:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, the IslandWood grads escaped to the North Cascades Institute (NCI) for the first part of an exchange program between the two organizations and one other, Wilderness Awareness School (WAS). NCI and WAS are two Washington organizations whose programs and philosophies are similar to those of IslandWood. Together, grad students and staff from all three organizations shared ideas and information about youth programs and the simple notion of getting kids to love nature.

The weekend began early on Saturday when the IslandWood grads met up and arranged to carpool for the ride up to NCI. With cars packed full of weekend necessities, the grads headed toward the ferry to begin an amazing scenic drive northward. A few hours later, we were welcomed by NCI grads and staff and soon met up with those from WAS. Our first day at NCI included guided hikes and exploration time, then informal mingling with drinks and appetizers, followed by a burrito dinner. That night, all three organizations teamed up for a friendly round of trivia and games, affording all of the grads and staff an opportunity to work together and meet new people.

On Sunday, we started the day with a group activity called Each One Teach One, in which groups of students move along the trails and stop along the way to learn from others. It's an educational activity well-known to IslandWood grad instructors, so it was interesting to participate in a different setting and with new people. Later in the day, we ventured out on hikes to Pyramid Lake, Ross Dam and Sourdough Mountain, just a few of the astounding sights around NCI. A few grads embarked on some free exploration and hiked up to a landing overlooking Diablo Lake, then continued up to a cascading waterfall. After a long afternoon of exploring the intricate, hidden corners of the North Cascades, we were all ready for a pizza dinner and campfire. By the glow of the fire, we exchanged music, stories and an amazingly clear view of the stars above.

The next morning we said our goodbyes to our hosts from NCI and our colleagues from WAS, and we began the journey back to IslandWood. The weekend was a great success, and we're looking forward to continuing the exchange when NCI and WAS visit IslandWood next month.

This week marks the start of another teaching week for Cohort D, and it promises to be an eventful one with IslandWood grads eager to implement all that we learned over the weekend.

Looking foward to what comes next!

2010-01-19T11:58:00.001-08:00

Raindrops adorned the canopy of the forest as the gold chariots arrived, carrying the largest group of students who have visited Islandwood yet. Grads busily unpacked busses and U-Haul’s carrying the belongings of the students from their Seattle homes across the Puget Sound on our quaint island ferry. This week the bags arrived unlabeled creating quite the predicament for the students and grads as we had no idea what bags should go to the various lodges on campus. Not to fear, the problem was solved rather effortlessly and we only lost a few minutes of field time.

We were fortunate on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, the heavy rain briefly let up and a gentle mist set in. Although the rain wasn’t falling, the torrential downpour in the day’s prior left “ponds” on the Islandwood trails. I acted as the instructor of team wave and had 10 wonderful students from Schmitz Park Elementary, a school that backs up to the only old growth forest in Seattle. I discovered what wonderful “outdoor troopers” I had as we walked along the trails singing songs, playing games and jumping in upcoming puddles as the rain fell from the sky in buckets. As we trotted up the forest loop in a “kid sandwich”, (adults are the bread and students are the sandwich fillings) I watched as a student anticipated a puddle to be much more shallow than it turned out to be. Luckily, tears were kept at bay as I wrung out her tennis shoes and pant legs. She was gifted with the socks off my very own feet, (and was very happy about it as they were pink and purple) and we continued on our adventure.

We arrived at an opening in the forest and the directions began as the rain continued to fall. I described ways for students to “meet their tree” blindfolded through sensory moves. “Hug your tree, feel the base of your tree and as high up the trunk as you can reach. Walk around your tree, is there any shrubbery?” The students were overjoyed at the thought of blindfolding a partner and leading them around and were very diligent at being careful and following the directions in order to keep each other safe. Each and every student, after being led to a tree blindfolded, given time to get to know their tree and led away in a round about way, found their tree without fail once the blindfold was removed. Giggles and laughter rang through the forest and I knew they were truly living in the moment!

The following morning, as we carefully handled the baskets so generously donated to us by the “grandmother” of Islandwood, Vi, we discussed the history of the place we were exploring. We relished in the heritage, the culture and the hardships of the NW Native American tribes. As we were leaving a student added, “My father’s bad day begins when he runs into a spider web”. I very delicately pointed out to him to, “Think about how the spider felt”!

Do you have any great kid quotes? Please share them with the grads at Islandwood below… we love to share the joy of education and the humor children bring!

Mochi Celebration, Adventure Races, New Classes

2010-01-10T23:55:00.000-08:00

2010 is off to a great start with a week full of great new ways for us to push ourselves to become the best environmental educators we can be!

On Sunday, the annual Mochi Tsuki Celebration was once again held at IslandWood. Every year the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community puts on the Mochi Tsuki Celebration as a homage to the age-old Japanese New Year's tradition where the delicious Japanese rice treat of mochi is made by hand. The event is famous on the island and people from Seattle even make the ferry trip over to experience the festivities. With a reputation like that, there was no way I was going to miss it!

Much of the mochi-making took place outdoors where sweet rice was steamed over wood fires until it was sticky. It was then transferred to a large stone mortar where members of the audience volunteered to help pound it repeatedly with heavy wooden mallets. The mochi pounding looked like so much fun that I decided to try it, and it was a blast! Between each rapid blow of my mallet, one of the event workers stretched and flipped the mochi, making me nervous that I was going to break his fingers, but he knew what he was doing and he got the whole audience laughing and cheering.

After about 15 minutes, the mochi had a soft doughy consistency and, still warm, it was taken to a table inside where kids and adults alike waited eagerly to roll it into balls with sweet bean paste in the center. What resulted were delectable balls of soft stretchy mochi that were gobbled up by the crowds of participants!

The rest of the event was fascinating as well, with historic displays about the deportation of the Japanese Americans from Bainbridge Island during WWII and multiple taiko drumming performances that left everyone's hearts racing and faces smiling. I got to see my mentor, Greg, and his baby daughter, Josephine at the celebration too! (See BIJAC's website for further information about their organization and the Mochi Tsuki Celebration.)

The quarter officially started for the grads on Tuesday and after sharing stories about our winter breaks over breakfast in the Great Hall, we split into groups for an adventure race around IslandWood! From the garden to the suspension bridge to the pond to the treehouse we ran, completing various IslandWood-themed tasks at each venue to earn points for our team.
At one place, we had to work as a team to help my fellow blogger, Diana, scurry sideways along a rope to get a rubber chicken tied midway up a tree. At the suspension bridge, we had to lead our teammates blindfolded across the bridge without them touching the railings. At the pond, we had to fill a container of water using only our hands. The race was a lot of fun and it was a great way to reconnect with our fellow grads and get reacquainted with all the trails.

The rest of the week held many workshops, classes and trainings to enhance our teaching.
We had a tracking outing with our Natural History & Ecology course, learned how to use IslandWood's collection of Native American baskets to teach our students about the cultural history of the region, met with our mentors to prepare to start teaching again, fine-tuned some of the watershed curriculum activities, improved our liaison skills, and learned about the sustainable features of IslandWood's buildings. Three of our four winter quarter classes began as well. I'm particularly looking forward to learning how to use visual, musical, movement, and theatre arts to teach environmental science lessons in the Arts Integration course and the 'visionary schools' project that spans both the Foundations of Education course and the Curriculum & Instruction Methods course. For this project, we get to develop plans for founding our ideal school. My mind is already racing with visions of school gardens, service-learning components, outdoor adventure trips, mixed-age classrooms, and lots of experiential learning opportunities in my ideal school! Readers, what would your ideal school be like? Please comment below! We'd love to hear your ideas!

Sunset from Ferry, photo by Emily Jane Schankerman (EEC grad)

A New Year

2010-01-04T13:32:00.000-08:00

The final week of fall quarter arrived quickly for many IslandWood grad students. It seems like we spent so many weeks preparing for the journey ahead, a challenge accompanied by the uncertainty of an unknown terrain, a group of new faces, and for many of us, a highly-anticipated move across the country. Now, the first term of the year is over, and the depths of these new experiences are really beginning to unfold.

The final teaching week was, without a doubt, one to remember. Cohorts A and B united for a week of team-teaching, meaning that both cohorts were teaching in the field together, and each field group was led by two grad instructors. For some, team-teaching is an exercise in working closely with another person to better learn from someone else's teaching style and methods. For others, it's an opportunity to share with a friend the many remarkable and often unpredictable moments that arise from the experience of teaching in the woods.

This week was marked by the presence of Arist-in-Residence (AIR), Jah Breeze. An IslandWood AIR for seven years, Jah Breeze is an international musician and drummer from Guyana. Each year, Jah Breeze has brought to IslandWood his vast knowledge and background in African drumming. With experience teaching percussion lessons at various Seattle organizations, as well as those throughout the country and around the world, Jah Breeze brought to this week's programming a level of excitement among the students, staff and grad instructors alike. Throughout the week, six lucky field groups participated in 90-minute workshops in which Jah Breeze taught the students about the cultural, historical and artistic aspects of African drumming. Students practiced and performed rhythms using the Djembe, a traditional African drum constructed from hardwood trees and covered by a skin or membrane.

During the workshops, students learned traditional rhythms of Africa, South America and the Caribbean. It was an opportunity for students to practice a unique cultural artform while facilitating the exploration of their own interests and abilities.

This week, the normal indoor evening program was replaced by a special performance by Jah Breeze and students from all 13 field groups. The students proudly accompanied Jah Breeze as he filled the Great Hall with the rumbles and patters produced by a group of budding musicians. The look of pride worn on each young face was that of a child genuinely touched by a meaningful and memorable experience, and as a grad instructor, it was a truly rewarding sight with which to end the quarter.

As I draft this entry, I am sitting on a plane traveling nearly one side of the country to the other. After being home for the holidays for the last two weeks, most of us are making the long trek back to Bainbridge Island for the start of winter quarter. For many, the holidays presented a welcomed and much-needed reunion with family and friends. But as I leave all that behind, I can't help but wonder what will be waiting for me when I return to IslandWood. I am often amazed, when I really pause and think, about the vast body of knowledge I've gained since first arriving here at IslandWood some five months ago. Undoubtedly, there is still much ahead to learn, especially from the children we are here to teach. As I continue my flight, now somewhere over the vast spread of the sprawling plains, I contemplate the start of a new year and the many opportunities from which to glean knowledge and growth; and as I wrap up this entry, I look forward to stretching my legs and seeing my roommate and fellow grad instructor, Hanae, waiting with a smile on the ground below.

Cheers to a brand new 2010, and I'll be seeing you all in the coming year!

2009-12-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

So far this year, Zoe, Diana and I have talked extensively about the SOP experience and the innards of the program. I realized the other day that we have not however, discussed what we like to call our “off weeks”. As we have already stated, after our month long, extensive training all twenty-nine grads are split into two cohorts. After the split we begin to rotate back and forth between weeks in the field and weeks “off”. Prior to arriving at Islandwood I tried so hard to imagine what this experience would be like and what I was getting myself into! I came up with many different scenarios in my mind, none of which were actually the case. It is hard to imagine a program that has so many different layers to unfold and interpret.

I would like to dedicate this portion of the blog to the elusive “off weeks”.
What are the happenings? What are we held accountable for? What do you have to look forward to? On Monday of our “off week” you and your cohort attend something we like to call, “Super Monday” from 12-2. “Super Monday” is an offshoot of the classes that you are taking that quarter. It is up to the Ed team to decide which class to dedicate those two hours to. (Don’t you love homophones?) This past Tuesday, Cohort B, (The Tiny Horses) galloped down to the pond on that rather chilly, yet sunny day to do a pre-lesson for an Arts Integration course that we will be taking next quarter with Professor Hillary. She read us a perspective story, which in this case was from the perspective of a Big Leaf Maple seed. Later, we were asked to write our own perspectives story, finding something around the pond to inspire us. No activity would be complete at Islandwood without a mind map so that is exactly what we did. We shared our perspective stories and determined what elements in the stories were abiotic, biotic and cultural. This activity was excellently modeled, a regular occurrence on “Super Mondays” and is a much anticipated activity to try in the field.

Thankfully, Tuesday and Wednesday are left free for us to complete homework for that week’s classes and the next week’s classes as you will not have any time to do homework during your SOP weeks. You are also required to visit your liason school on your “off week”. While visiting your liason school you might do a parent presentation, student presentation or teach a lesson. You may be asked to do all three depending upon the level of involvement that the classroom teacher prefers.

On Thursday, all cohort members return to the grad classroom at 9am for “lab time”. “Lab time” is similar to “Super Monday” because it is up to the Ed team to decide which class those three hours will be devoted to. At 12 you are set free to run errands, complete homework or rest until 6pm when the other cohort joins you. Class will ensue from 6-9 on Thursday night and will pick up again at 9:30am the following morning. At 4:30pm our weekend begins. The weekends for many of us include quite a bit of babysitting and homework completion. Others might take a trip to Seattle and others venture even further. No matter your pleasure, you will enjoy your weekend tremendously knowing on Monday, your adventure begins again!

Beautiful pictures taken by Minna at the bog at one of our "Super Monday" classes!

Bog Cranberries, Team-Teaching, Tiny Horses and Thanksgiving!

2009-12-01T17:35:00.000-08:00

The last couple weeks have held many exciting activities!

For Cohort B's Super Monday session (a bi-weekly 2-hour supplemental training), we got to explore IslandWood's bog for the first time! A bog is a very delicate ecosystem, so we only teach our students about it from the edges, but for our Super Monday session, we were led through it by two of our prime naturalist instructors, Karen and Greg. We donned our rubber boots and rain gear, and braved the pouring skies to learn more about this rare and exciting ecosystem! In pairs, we became experts on different bog plant species then took turns teaching other pairs about our plant in Each One Teach One style, a teaching method we use often with students since it empowers them to share their knowledge with others.

My partner, Minna, and I became experts on the bog cranberry, a species of wild cranberry that grows in bogs throughout the Pacific Northwest. It was interesting to learn about the cultural uses of the bog cranberry in native tribes and how to distinguish it from the mountain cranberry.

We had a blast snacking on juicy, and sometimes sour, little cranberries as we taught our peers about their unique characteristics and helped them pick prime berries to taste. We then continued our trek through the soggy bog to learn about other plant species from our fellow grads, sometimes sinking up to our knees in the wet sphagnum moss. The whole bog experience was certainly a memorable one spent learning, laughing, and absolutely loving our job as outdoor educators.

Last week was supposed to be another solo-teaching week for Cohort B, but one of the schools that was scheduled to come had to drop out because their administration decided to cancel all field trips this fall to limit any potential exposure to swine flu, so most of us ended up team-teaching since there were fewer kids than expected. I had the opportunity to teach with my friend Jenn who was a middle school science teacher for two years before coming to IslandWood. We were the leaders of Team Ravine, and boy did we have a blast! Our kids were excited about everything we did and always had interesting and thoughtful comments to add to group discussions. I was able to try out a new approach for facilitating the Community Agreement (a set of guidelines for the week that the kids come up with for themselves) at the beginning of the week and had much success. I also led a really thought-provoking discussion and exploration at the Blakely cemetery, focusing on how much the people who are no longer with us can teach us about the history of the place where they lived. I'm always impressed with how respectful and pensive the children are when exploring the cemetery. They don't hesitate to delve into questions of how the people died, how old they were when they died, who they are buried with, and what kinds of lives they led when they were alive. Those are just a couple highlights of what turned out to be a very enjoyable week. Even though Jenn and I had different teaching styles, we learned a lot from each other, and were kept laughing the whole time by our enthusiastic and humorous kiddos.

Team Ravine having a W.A.M.!

(Water Appreciation Moment)

On the last day of every teaching week, it is tradition for all the instructors to dress up with some kind of theme. Past themes have included pajama day, sunglasses in the rain, awkward tuck day, and 80s hairdo day. Cohort A even did one where they all wore unicorn horns that they had individually decorated with ribbons, glitter, and paint since their cohort's mascot is the unicorn.

Not to be outdone, this week Cohort B decided to show off the extreme pride we have for our mascot, the Tiny Horse (lonnng story involving deer tracks resembling tiny horse hoof prints...), so I made everyone "Tiny Horse Bling" using my childhood collection of My Little Ponies and horse figurines. Each team-teaching pair picked out their own tiny horse necklace, then we sported our tiny horse bling with prideful grins the whole day!

Cohort A doing our Tiny Horse gallop!

(we're obviously the coolest people you know...)

At the end of the short teaching week, I got bigs hugs from all of my Team Ravine kids as they boarded the bus, waved goodbye as they pulled out of the parking lot, had an interesting debrief lunch with the rest of Cohort B and our mentors, then jumped in the car with my fellow grad, Kelly to drive down to Portland for Thanksgiving!

It was my first Thanksgiving home since high school because I went to college in Ohio and could never fly back west just for the weekend, and a perfect Thanksgiving it was. I truly have so much to be grateful for in my life! Lots of delicious food, wonderful times with family, long talks with friends, contra dancing, hot tubbing, game-playing, and pet cuddling filled the long weekend. I even baked a gluten-free pecan pie and two gluten-free pumpkin pies with gingersnap crusts from scratch! Now I'm rejuvenated for another three weeks of teaching, studying, and exploring before winter break!

A Windy Week in the Woods

2009-11-22T11:18:00.000-08:00

Another SOP teaching week has passed us by, leaving the EEC grads exhausted but enthusiastic about how much we've accomplished and learned since our arrival here, now nearly three months ago. Cohort A was joined this week by Madrona Elementary and Bailey Gatzert Elementary, two schools whose students crossed the Sound via ferry to engage in a week of exploration and discovery.

Like all teaching weeks here at IslandWood, this week brought with it enough challenges to test even the most experienced of teachers. Before the sun set on day one, high winds threatened the night hike, an evening activity that involves leading field groups through forest trails without the assitance of flashlights and head lamps. For the students, there is always a mixed reaction to the night hike; some are intimidated by the forest's shadows and seemingly never-ending darkness, while others embrace the challenge and eagerly await the opportunity to experience the outdoors like never before. On this day, though, mother nature breathed down heavily upon us, and the night hike was suspended due to the possibility of high winds. Red Alder trees are notorious for falling during wind storms, and because the night hike's setting embodies a vast forest dotted with Alders, IslandWood staff decided to make safety a priority and consequently adjusted the activity. Field groups played games and participated in typical night hike activities, but all was done in the safety of open fields near campus buildings. Later, several groups ventured inside various campus buildings and continued the evening under the veil of dark classrooms, using only dimly-lit candles for light during storytelling. Although perhaps not ideal, the night hike activities challenged the EEC field instructors to think quickly on their feet, an attribute of which we are all learning the importance.

Each week, two field groups are lucky enough to be able to participate in an activity called Dirt to Dinner. Students are able to work with IslandWood kitchen staff to help prepare meals and snacks for their fellow students using homegrown ingredients, many of which come from IslandWood's own garden. It's a great opportunity for students to learn about what grows in their own back yards and how to buy and cook with local goods. This week's student chefs cooked up quite a feast with a little help from IslandWood staff.

In an exciting twist, this week also saw the creation of a new indoor evening program called Science Fair. The indoor evening program is completed by half of the field groups, while the other half go out in the woods for the night hike. Then, the following evening, the groups switch venues so that everyone is able to complete both the indoor program and the night hike. This week's new creation was credited to Kate and Emily Jane, the school liaisons. The liaisons are EEC grads who take a week off from teaching to take charge of coordinating all of the group activities and behind-the-scenes logistics. The Science Fair program encouraged groups of students to move between various stations and experiment with common household products to gain a better understanding of important scientific principles. It was great to see students engaged in scientific understanding using everyday objects in a way that really reasonated with them. It helped them learn that science is everywhere and that they are scientists, too. Kudos to Kate and Emily Jane for the extended effort!

As always, the week wrapped up with the Wednesday evening campfire at the Friendship Circle, the usual group meeting spot for morning meetings before groups are released for field study. Both schools brought a host of talent this week, with performances that included singing, dancing and poetry reading. It is custom to end the campfire with a slideshow of photos taken throughout the week. The photos show the various field groups engaged in lessons and activities during their stay here at IslandWood, and the night never fails to create excitement within the crowd. Emotions are high as students lament the thought of going home the following morning. It reminds us, the field instructors, why we're here.

For the EEC grads, emotions run high, too, as the holidays draw near. Several grads will be making the long trek home this week and next to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family. There are a handful, though, that will stay here and celebrate with our new IslandWood family. We'll have all the usual fixings and a guaranteed good time.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!