Educators TOOLBOX
Art & Ecology


Art & Ecology:

Curriculum Integration



Pickerington Elementary School

Partnerships

Our continuing story is one of community.Pickerington Elementary students,staff, and parents made a commitment to saving wetlands beginning with apartnership with Metro Parks of Columbus and Franklin County that evolvedfrom initial field trips to Pickerington Ponds during the 1992-1993 schoolyear. Since then the variety of individuals and organizations collaboratingwith our students to achieve the unimaginable has been astounding: includingparents, retired community residents, area businesses, and other communityorganizations. We have crossed generations, disciplines and regions toaccomplishour goals.

Kim Haithcoat of Metro Parks & Students

From our experiences with developing interdisciplinary experiences andcollaborative learning for our students, we have witnessed the impact andpower of a life-centered program and its benefits on creating interdisciplinarycurriculum. Residents of the Pickerington Elementary community have experiencedfirst-hand how to join together to learn with and from each other.

Nina Borgia-Aberle with Students

Resource information for the development of our curriculumactivities was obtained from many sectors including: children's author and environmentalistRon Hirschi; Metro Parks of Columbus & Franklin County; Fairfield Water & Soil Conservation; The Ohio Arts Council's Artist Residency Program, including artists Nina Borgia-Aberle, Mary Forker, Julie Byrne, Debbie Griffing, Jim Villani, and Jo McLaughlin; The Ohio State University's Department of Art Education and Environmental Education; ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education.

Funding has been achieved through a collaboration of diverse sources and, subsequently, has inspired us to plan a variety of activities. Our study has been funded over the five years by the following: The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's Ohio Environmental Education Fund, the Ohio Arts Council, Canon USA, Metro Parks of Columbus and Franklin County, the Pickerington Elementary PTO, Pickerington Local Schools, private donations from supportive parents, and sales from products that directly relate to the project, including T-shirts depicting the Pickerington Ponds mural and commemorative ornaments.

Adult volunteers helping to install the Pickerington PondsMural





More About the Pickerington Project

 Student Stories

 How To Hear the Grass Sing

 Michael

Wandering Through Wetlands

Marc

Inspired Reflection

Danielle

Issues:Community and Global

Danny

Partnerships







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