Photo by Larry O. Gay

Effective environmental education requires field experience to solidify understanding, ignite curiosity, and establish an “I can do” sense of responsibility. Effective environmental education also instills an awareness and appreciation of the complicated networks necessary to the health of any habitat. Let Aldridge Gardens enrich your curriculum with meaningful outdoor learning.

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Garden Etiquette

Teachers! Here is a great site for birding information to use in your lesson plans. Created by Debbie Sessamen, 4 th & 5 th grade teacher, Trace Crossings Elementary, Hoover

http://gonativeal.wikispaces.com/

Field Trips are offered from:

September 12 – November 11, 2008 and from

April 3 through May 12, 2008.

The Field Trips

Meet the Trees! (Kindergarten)

In this one-hour field trip, students will compare size, shape, and structure of “baby trees” from our plant nursery to a variety of trees on the grounds at Aldridge Gardens. Through dramatic play they will experience how it feels to be a tree and/or a sprouting acorn. A highlight of the trip is playing Squirrels and Trees after talking about how trees are good for people and for wildlife. Students will plant a tree seed to take home. In addition, Aldridge Gardens will provide, free of charge, a “baby tree” for your students to observe for two weeks during your tree study. At the end of the two weeks, we can help you plant the tree on your school grounds, or pick it up and bring it back to the Garden. The trip lasts one hour.

Habitat Hunters (Grade 1)

This two-hour trip begins with an introduction to quiet, thoughtful observation in nature. The trip has two explorations: Teacher/Leader guided and Docent guided. For the Teacher/Leader exploration, children will visit lake, wildflower, or wood.land habitats. A one page guide for each habitat will list things to look for as well as questions to provoke curiosity and discussion. In the Docent guided part of the trip, students will visit the children's vegetable garden to observe the kinds of plants that grow from different vegetable seeds, where the seeds come from, and the interdependence of plants and animals in this environment. The program has been developed to help children develop an appreciation of the delicate balance of nature, the importance of plants and animals in a healthy environment, and the child's role in preserving this balance.

Down to Earth: A Worm's-Eye View of Soil Science (Grade 2)

This two-part trip includes a lesson on soils and a lesson on vermiculture (using redworms to recycle food waste and newspaper for the purpose of producing nutrient rich fertilizer for plants). In the soils part of the lesson, students will differentiate among the properties of soil and identify soil components (sand, silt, clay, humus). They will observe how plants grow in different soils, conduct temperature and percolation tests, and learn about the importance of composting. In the vermiculture section, students will learn about the interdependence of plants and worms, observe how worm offspring are similar to their parents, observe behaviors of worms that help them to survive, and harvest worms from finished vermicompost. The trip lasts approximately 2 hours.

Plant Propagation (Grade 3)

This two-part trip includes a lesson in propagating plants and a walk through the garden to observe plants grown from bulbs, seeds, cuttings, runners, and layering. An education docent will guide a lesson in which students review the parts of a plant and their functions as well as the parts of a flower and their functions. Each student will propagate 3 plants using seeds, runners, and cuttings. Classroom teachers will lead the tour through the garden using a map to find examples of plants being propagated in different ways. The whole trip will last approximately two hours.

The Geometry Garden (grades 4 and 5)

This two-part trip includes a visit to the geometry garden where students measure raised growing beds to find the perimeter, area, and volume, then calculate the cost of filling the beds with soil and soil amendments. In addition, they will identify parallel and perpendicular lines, and estimate the angles of the various beds. In the second part students will learn how to measure a tree and how points are calculated to identify champion trees. The trip will last approximately two hours.

Field Trips are offered from:

September 12 – November 11, 2008 and from

April 3 through May 12, 2008.

Due to the size of the gardens we request that no more than 2 classes (50 children) come on the same date. Please provide one adult chaperone for each 10 students.

A fee of $3 per student is requested to cover materials.

A picnic area is available if you would like to follow your field trip with an outdoor lunch.

Register by mail, fax or in person with this printable form.

F or more information, contact Colleen Bedics at

aldridgecb@bellsouth.net or

682-8019