March 14, 2025 (TRU)

My main takeaway from the conference was that land-based learning can take place anywhere and is an excellent way to include and engage students. When I typically think of land-based education I imagine taking students deep into the wilderness – which would be amazing but isn’t always practical on a daily basis. The Environmental Youth Alliance uses urban green spaces to help connect youth with the Land, which really emphasized that, regardless of where your school is located, as a teacher, you can find ways to build that connection. Inspired by this idea, I designed a field trip for my upcoming practicum wherein we’ll walk to Rae-Mor Park in Raleigh and then down to the riverbed. From the riverbed students will have the opportunity to observe how trees maintain the riverbank near their homes.