Discovering Nature As Our Greatest Teacher, Healer, and Classroom

HAPPY SPRING! CHECK OUT OUR WONDROUS WINTER BELOW! 

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We're thrilled to launch our fundraising campaign to expand outdoor learning opportunities for Baltimore City youth this coming summer! Your support will make all aspects of our programs possible and provide invaluable experiences for students.

1. School Enrichment Program: We aim to fill gaps left by the reduction in summer program offerings in Baltimore City this year, which have been reduced to only 5 weeks. We're expanding the city's 3-hour, 4 day-a-week academic program into a full day with arts, STEM, and outdoor learning. This program includes caring for the school garden over the summer, an essential investment. 

2. Forest Fridays: These field trips into the forest require bus transportation and expand the 4-day week into a 5-day week, providing additional outdoor education opportunities. Forest Fridays offer engaging and fun experiences in nature for students, enhancing their connection to our regional ecology.

3. Puh'tok Summer Program: We're offering day camp and overnight camp experiences at Puh'tok, including transportation. This immersive experience provides students with the health and educational benefits of being in a dense forest for at least one week with caring staff at a 1:6 ratio. We plan to send 10 kids per week to day camp for 8 weeks and 20 kids to overnight camp for 1 week, ensuring a diverse range of experiences for our students (100 slots total). 

Your donation will directly impact the lives of Baltimore City youth, providing them with access to valuable outdoor learning experiences this summer. Thank you for your support in making these programs a reality for our students.

With heart,

Gabriel Pickus (InDiGO Founder and Director)

From the air we breathe to the food we eat, nature is within and all around us. We drink the sun through our skin and use it to grow our bones. We oxygenate our blood by exchanging air with trees. Our bodies are made of mostly water. We are nature.​

This winter, we embraced the wonders of nature both inside and outside our classrooms. While we always strive to take our learning outdoors, the colder months have allowed us to discover the marvels of the natural world in new ways. Regardless of our location, we place children at the center of our engagement, recognizing that the essence of learning resides within their hearts and minds. We nurture their innate curiosity through play, exploration, and hands-on experiences.

Our journey into Science this season transcended mere textbooks and experiments. Through storytelling, art, music, and movement, we voyaged through the cosmos and the forces of nature. We seamlessly integrated Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts, creating a truly holistic and immersive learning experience. Check out the video above for a glimpse of winter learning adventures!

In Pre-K, smiles are contagious, especially when Sharky, our special guest, joins us! Sharky taught us valuable lessons about germs, hygiene, hand washing, tooth brushing, and our immune system. Through engaging activities like singing, dancing, playing, and drawing, we explored the fascinating world of microscopic germs. We also discovered how various animals care for their teeth.

One of the highlights was our purple plaque experiment. This hands-on activity allowed children to see firsthand how much plaque was stuck to their teeth after lunch, giving them a visual reminder of the importance of proper brushing. It was a fun and educational experience that reinforced good hygiene habits in a memorable way!

Kindergarteners became mini engineers as they constructed and played their own mini golf course to explore forces in motion. They put their ingenuity and problem-solving skills to the test as we transformed the school auditorium into an epic mini golf course. Through this hands-on experience, they learned about angles, trajectories, and the effects of force on moving objects. They also honed their teamwork skills as they collaborated to design and build each hole. It was a fun and interactive way to introduce complex physics concepts in a way that was engaging and memorable for the students.

First graders blasted off on an interstellar journey, donning their astronaut helmets and exploring space for the very first time. They navigated through lessons about Earth's position in the solar system and the vastness of the universe. Their cosmic adventure included uncovering the mysteries of the moon's phases, comparing the sizes of planets, and connecting constellations. 

We pondered InDiGO's central concept that we are all stars— with plenty of space in space for all these young stars to shine. This thoughtful discussion on how we can support one another in radiating our unique brilliance is ongoing. As we gazed at the sky, observing its patterns, we wondered: What might these celestial rhythms reveal about life's cycles on Earth? Exploring these questions ignited a sense of wonder and curiosity, inspiring a deeper connection to the universe and each other.

Second graders delved deeper into the Science of patterns in the sky, exploring the moon's orbit around Earth and discovering how its phases are created by Earth's shadow in relation to the sun. They enjoyed singing songs to learn interesting facts about the sun.

Diving into ancient astronomy, students explored stories and patterns observed by our ancestors in the sky, including the constellations. They also learned practical skills like finding the North Star using the Big Dipper.

To deepen their understanding of the concept of day and night, which is caused by Earth's rotation on its axis, students used flashlights to represent the sun and explored geography with blow-up globes. These hands-on activities made complex concepts more tangible and memorable, enhancing their learning experience.

In third grade, we embarked on an exciting journey into the world of magnets, exploring the fundamental forces of nature in a hands-on way. By playing with magnets, building structures with magnet tiles of different shapes, using magnetic cars, and picking up paper clips and other objects, we delved into the concepts of positive and negative polarity, electromagnetism, magnetic levitation, and gravity.

These activities not only taught us about the physical properties of magnets but also demonstrated how these forces are essential in our daily lives. We learned that our planet is a dynamic dance and delicate balance of extremes, where forces like electromagnetism and gravity play crucial roles in shaping our world.

We also conducted experiments to document the distances of magnetic fields through measurement and tested the different strengths of magnets by measuring how many paper clips they could pick up. In addition, we explored the fascinating phenomenon of static electricity by rubbing balloons on cloth, clothes, and hair. This simple act demonstrated the transfer of electrons, causing the balloon to become negatively charged and stick to positively charged surfaces, such as clothing or hair.

Furthermore, we discovered why a balloon can move a straw without touching it after rubbing the balloon. This phenomenon is due to the static charge created on the surface of the balloon. The negatively charged balloon repels the electrons in the straw, creating a temporary positive charge at the end of the straw closest to the balloon. This positive charge is attracted to the negative charge on the balloon, causing the straw to move towards the balloon without any physical contact. It's not magic, it's Science! 

Fourth grade confronted the challenges of of thriving on an increasingly extreme Earth. We delved into engineering and design challenges aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on communities worldwide.

Students designed "earthquake-resistant buildings" using spaghetti and marshmallows. They then tested these structures against increasingly intense "earthquakes" simulated using a massage gun under folding tables. Applying the Scientific Method, students hypothesized, observed, and analyzed which designs were most effective, collecting data after each "earthquake."

Students also constructed a "city" on a "volcano" and witnessed the devastation of an eruption. They built a "beach" and a "beach town" with "levees" to protect against "storm surges" and tsunamis, learning about the causes of tsunamis and volcanic eruptions through interactions between tectonic plates.

Additionally, students designed and built an "escape pod" balloon rocket, a challenging project that tested their planning, dexterity, teamwork, engineering, and design skills. These hands-on activities not only taught scientific principles but also fostered critical thinking and problem-solving skills essential for addressing real-world challenges.

Fifth grade immersed themselves in the intricacies of stormwater management, focusing on protecting local watersheds that feed into the Chesapeake Bay. They applied their skills in multi-digit decimal multiplication to calculate the runoff from the school roof during a three-inch rainstorm.

Exploring watersheds globally through Google Earth, students gained insights into various cultures' approaches to protecting and respecting water sources. Inspired by the stories of a young girl from Standing Rock, they learned how to become local water protectors with guidance from Blue Water Baltimore.

A special highlight was John Marra's visit as a guest speaker, providing valuable insights into the infrastructure surrounding the school. Students learned about rain gardens and constructed a miniature model to showcase how porous surfaces can filter out contaminants. They also conducted a comprehensive mapping of the school grounds, identifying areas that require improvements in stormwater management practices.

Thank you for joining us on this journey to return the motivation to learn to its rightful place: within the hearts and minds of young people. 

Remembering our connection with nature has never been more important for a generation of children, or the next seven. The Seventh Generation Principle is based on an ancient Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) philosophy that the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future.

From the air we breathe to the food we eat, Nature is within and all around us. We drink the sun through our skin and use it to grow our bones. We oxygenate our blood by exchanging air with trees. Our bodies are made of mostly water. We are nature.​

Elements forged in stars are the building blocks of all life, including us. Yes, we are all stars. Each of us, including young people, have a unique light to shine, with our own particular path, purpose, and potential.

Ultimately, making children's rights a reality is the responsibility of adults.

The pandemic illuminated and exacerbated the challenges we face as a species in many ways. We bore stark witness to our health, education, and economic systems' interdependence. Now it is time to create new systems that are not siloed, but built on the reality of their interdependence. As Albert Einstein said, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

Young people are whole human beings, yet our education systems carve up subjects into standards and outcomes that are disconnected from each other and from the children. How do we get from where we are now to where we know we must go: unified education as liberation? InDiGO's framework helps adults empower themselves to activate children's natural love of learning, power of healing, and capacity to shine while meeting state Education standards.

We must not only ask what kind of planet we are leaving our children, but also what kind of children we are leaving our planet. The environmental stewards and problem-solvers of the future are in school now. Giving young people access to nature and ensuring they understand that we are interdependent with it and part of it, is the foundation of a sustainable future.

The Baltimore Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights is not just about the outdoors; it's about the kids and the generations to come. Education is not about meeting standards or improving test scores; it's about the sustainability of democracy and sovereign human life on Earth.

Even nature and environmental education are not about nature or the environment. It's all about the kids.

We know that health and education improve when we protect and respect the rights of children to clean water, air, and nurturing environments. Our green spaces and forests in Baltimore City need care and investment so children can realize their rights within them. We need a workforce to restore our ecology before we will be able to assure these fundamental rights to children in their own communities.

We must support Maryland's unprecedented investment in education with parallel investments in the economic, environment, and health sectors. In Baltimore City, InDiGO works on every level in concert with youth, teachers, public and private schools, government agencies, outdoor centers, and community organizations to help make the Baltimore Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights a lived reality.

Please support us by forwarding this newsletter to anyone you know who may be interested in or inspired by our work. We are building a network of young people, educators, and advocates to help us discover nature as our greatest teacher, healer, and classroom. Please find us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube @InwardDiscovery.