Show Me the Ozarks September 2022

Bear Cubs and Kindergarten Field notes and photos by Jeff Cantrell G randchildren might tell their grandparents, “I want to play inside because that’s where the electrical plug-ins are!” A statement like this is sadly too familiar. The groundbreaking literature, Last Child in the Woods, Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit by Richard Louv has been on the scene for 17 years now, but veteran teachers and naturalists have been aware of this issue for some time. As technology advances and screentime is a major focus in formal education and many forms of recreation, a majority of people are elusively becoming disconnected from nature. I highly recommend Louv’s book, and since the release there have been scores of credible studies on time spent outdoors improving a community’s health (mentally and physically) and the tremendous benefits to a student’s learning.

The Missouri Department of Conservation has a long history of conservation education for all ages. Educating our public on Missouri’s wildlife, habitat and water resources has been a pillar of conservation work along with protection and habitat management. Currently, the department has curriculum for homeschooling families, youth leaders and schools across the state called Discover Nature Schools (DNS). The high school unit, DNS Nature Unbound, is an ecology textbook that is often utilized in junior colleges and training MO Master Naturalists, as well. My favorite units are the Nature Unleashed aligned for third and fourth grades focusing on ecosystems and animal/plant adaptations and Nature Unhooked. DNS Nature Unhooked is the middle school unit covering one of the Ozark’s prime features, our rivers and streams incorporating the aquatic life, watershed mapping and properties of water to go along with the student’s discoveries. Our newest unit is coming out this month, and it’s specific to Missouri’s kindergarten classes. The DNS unit is called Bears Through the Seasons, and the kindergarten student books are free to all Missouri homeschool families, youth groups and schools. The curriculum is completely aligned to all the science standards for the educator, and the homeschool parent may download the teacher guide on our website. Conservation education can be entertaining, but that is not our focus. Educators request quality materials to use, and we address disciplinary core ideas and cross-cutting concepts to develop a well-rounded inquiry and evidence-based lesson. I share these western Missouri counties with Conservation Educator Andy Rhodes. This fall, we will introduce this new conservation education material to all interested educators. We will have training available, as well, but at any time Missouri residents may set up an account on our webpage and order student books for free if they can utilize them.

Register at MDC’s Teacher Portal: nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/teacher-portal It is hard to keep up with hundreds of school districts’ current goals and the updates governed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Jefferson City, but we do our best. This new DNS kindergarten curriculum is something to be proud of for our region. We all strive for our community’s benefit and certainly the health and learning of our students; Discover Nature Schools is a step in the right direction for our teachers and youth. If anyone has questions, feel free to e-mail Andy Rhodes or me. Andy will cover schools in Barry, Cedar, Dade and Lawrence counties, and I will handle schools and youth groups in Barton, Jasper, McDonald and Newton counties. I’ll be working the Shoal Creek Conservation Education Center’s Monarch Festival Saturday, September 17 (10 am to 3 pm); I’ll have my new Bears Through the Seasons guide to show. Come see me and enjoy the nature center at the festival. All the very best – Jeff Jeff.cantrell@mdc.mo.gov Andrew.rhodes@mdc.mo.gov

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