Noteworthy Neighbors

Fairmount Park Newsletter, June 1999

When I am told, I know.

When I read, I remember.

When I do, I learn.

     These words rang true this summer as Fairmount Park's Natural Lands Restoration and Environmental Education Program piloted a summer service learning program.

     "It began when the national School and Community Corps (NSCC) approached the Park in late spring for help with the summer camp program," explained nancy Smith-Fagan, NLREEP's Volunteer Manager. "Their camps at local public schools were organized around three components:  art, literacy and service learning. NSCC leaders requested our help in fulfilling the service learning portion of their mission. By blending the Park's summer nature lessons with hands-on service opportunities, we were able to do just that."

     On weekly visits to Pennypack Park, Andorra natural Area, East Park and Fox chase Farm, hundreds of students from 10 camps learned about trails, plant ecology, and stream ecosystems. While they learned, they helped repair those trails, care for the trees, and clean up the very streams they studied. As students weeded the garden and pumpkin patch at Fox Chase Farm, they learned how food is grown. (you'd be surprised at how many people thing that spinach grows in the little waxed boxes found in the freezer section of the grocery store!)

     For many students and their adult camp leaders, this visit to Fairmount Park was their first experience of the natural outdoor world. During each camp's initial visit, questions ranged from, "Are there bears here?" to "does it bite?" With repeated visits through the summer, however, students moved from fear to familiarity. Many experienced pride and a sense of accomplishment, surprised at the things they were able to do and proud of the contribution they made to their community.

     As with any pilot project, the NSCC program was a learning experience for Park staff as well. "We learned that service learning works best when it is student-led, when students are active participants in choosing the projects, planning and implementing them, " noted Smith-Fagan. "We learned that while a one-shot experience is valuable, it pales in comparison to a structured program with repeated visits to the park."

     When done well, service learning is a win-win proposition. Students are engaged in a hands-on, real world experience. Yet they also learn significant lessons about interdependence, community, citizenship and stewardship. Through service learning, Fairmount Park is helping to develop the next generation of environmentalists and stewards of our precious natural resources.