By applying nationally-recognized guidelines for excellence, Mighty Acorns gives students the ability to become the next generation of environmentally-savvy problem solvers.
Mighty Acorns is an interdisciplinary environmental education program that provides students with the know-how, inspiration, and first-hand experience needed to take care of nature in their communities in order to foster a healthier planet. Environmental education aims to develop a population that is aware of, and concerned about, creating and maintaining a healthy environment. As an environmental education program, Mighty Acorns, provides lessons and visits to natural areas where students do hands on stewardship work. This provides them with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations, and commitment to work individually and collectively to support a healthy environment in their communities.
The Mighty Acorns program seeks to build a strong foundation for students that:
- Fosters a clear awareness, concern, and care for ecological
interdependence and biodiversity in urban areas - Provides every student with opportunities to acquire the knowledge,
values, attitudes, commitment, and skills needed to protect and improve
the environment - Supports positive behaviors towards the environment
The elementary grade years are a time of tremendous cognitive development. Elementary aged students are concrete thinkers with a natural curiosity about the world around them. This curiosity is the backbone of scientific inquiry and meaningful learning experiences. The Mighty Acorns program provides students with the opportunity to hone in on their environmental knowledge and action skills of observing, communicating, measuring, classifying, and predicting. This, partnered with outdoor exploration experiences and learning games help students build the passion and know-how needed for a healthier planet.
Based on these educational philosophies, Mighty Acorns uses the following key principles of environmental education based on the North American Association of Environmental Education‘s guidelines for excellence.
Systems and Interdependence
Students learn they are not only connected to the ecosystem but play a huge part in it. Through in-class and on-site lessons, students discover the relationships and interactions in local ecosystems. The activities cover a wide variety of topics, everything from the food web to migration to animal adaptations!
The Importance of Where One Lives
In order to really understand their ecosystem, students must learn about the area around them. They participate in field study trips to natural areas close to their communities. This gives them the opportunity to explore and understand nature. The knowledge and skills gained in the local community gives students a base to learn about broader issues in larger ecosystems.
Roots in the Real World
Students participate in hands-on stewardship activities each time they visit their local natural area. The investigation, analysis, and problem solving skills the students use during their stewardship experience are essential to making connections to the real world and becoming active learners. Students also experience and see the changes in their local natural area over time not just because of change in seasons, but also as a direct result of their stewardship activities which provide another way for students to learn about local biodiversity.
Critical Thinking
Students are challenged to think critically and creatively throughout the program. Each season students participate in activities that emphasize decision-making, communication, and collaborative learning all of which are skills essential for active and meaningful learning, both in school, and over a lifetime. These 21st Century Skills that the students obtain are necessary for turning science into action and activating knowledge that will propel them to become an informed and action-oriented part of society.