Heritage Conservancy runs afterschool nature programs at all of the elementary and middles schools in Bristol Township School District, including Keystone Elementary. WHYY reporter Peter Crimmins and photographer Emma Lee recently visited Heritage Conservancy’s Croydon Woods Nature Preserve to report on the nature club we run there as part of a larger story on the benefits of exposing children to nature.
Nature Club
Our Science, Nature, and Mindfulness Club serves grades 3 – 7 and was designed to help kids engage with the nature around them, feeling comfortable in the woods and inspired to explore and care for nature.
Heritage Conservancy recognized the need and interest in the district for after school clubs after discussion with community leader Damita Harvey during a Bristol Cares Coalition meeting — part of its community outreach work in Lower Bucks County. “We had piloted this program in a different school district and thought that the Science, Nature, and Mindfulness club could be a good fit for BTSD elementary and middle schools,” says Shannon Fredebaugh-Siller, Educations and Community Programs Director.
The program has been adapted to the local surroundings of each of the five schools it serves this fall, hoping to engage students in their immediate area and instill a sense of engagement on and near the school grounds. The Croydon Woods Nature Preserve is a particularly fertile setting for the students at Keystone Elementary, who also use the outdoor classroom and education areas for school programs and classwork.
Peter and Emma visited a gathering of Keystone Elementary students on a brisk October afternoon and shadowed them on a journey into Croydon Woods, where they found salamanders under logs, explored with magnifying glasses, and collected items from nature to examine under telescopes. They also participated in some nature journaling.
Children and the Outdoors
Numerous studies highlight the benefits of time in nature for healthy childhood development, learning, physical and mental health, impulse control, and social and emotional regulation. Heritage Conservancy is pleased to partner with the Bristol Township School District in the development of programs that help connect classroom learning and experience with the outdoors.
Read the WHYY News article and listen to the radio feature.
As part of its advocacy and community outreach, Heritage Conservancy has signed on to the Pennsylvania Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights that is mentioned in the story. It is part of a growing movement to assure that all kids in Pennsylvania have access to safe and clean outdoor spaces and the benefits that time in nature affords them. Learn more.
Read more about Croydon Woods and our youth programs there.