Palouse Prairie School Summer Adventure

Originally published in the Moscow Food COOP News, October 2008

By Donna Mills, PPSEL Volunteer

This past July, members of Palouse Prairie School of Expeditionary Learning offered a chance for children in the area to experience a hands-on look and feel of Expeditionary Learning. The subject was local sustainable and organic agriculture. The two-week class was full of many opportunities for the children to get their hands into the local agriculture. They visited a local organic farm and learned how an organic farm is different from a non-organic farm. The children participated in a creating a plot at the Moscow Community Garden and after harvesting the garden, they gave their vegetables to Backyard Harvest. The project let them see food travel from the soil to the community. There were many wonderful activities that the children explored, including worm composting, honey bee pollination and a look at the connection between farming and wetland conservation. The experience culminated in a project in which the children painted a PCEI trailer to show what organic and sustainable gardening looks like. Watch for the newly painted PCEI trailer as it travels through town to work at local watersheds.

This experience exemplifies one of the ten design principles of an expeditionary school. The eighth design principle, “The Natural World” says: “A direct and respectful relationship with the natural world refreshes the human spirit and teaches the important ideas of recurring cycles and cause and effect. Students learn to become stewards of the earth and of future generations.” What a fantastic experience the children participated in.

Please join us for a workshop "A day in the life of an Expeditionary Learning School,” October 11, 9-noon. This free workshop will be led by a school designer from Portland and will be held in the new west wing of the 1912 building. Please RSVP at http://PalousePrairieSchool.org. For more volunteer opportunities, contact nilspete@gmail.com.