Environmental Responsibility: A River Runs Through It
For a fleeting moment this spring, a small piece of the Niagara Escarpment will sprout several new rivers. The miniature “rivers” are part of a hands-on lesson about the work of water in the environment. Students in Montessori 6 and 7 begin to learn about river ecology in the classroom but it is on this wooded escarpment hillside that the lesson blossoms with experiential learning. Immersed in the tools of nature, the children use their knowledge and their creativity for a half-day of river-building.
“So much of learning at this age is about creating an impression,” explains Danielle Hourigan, Assistant Head of Montessori School. “An activity like this creates a strong impression of the power of water. They’ll remember it and when they see places like the Niagara gorge they’ll really understand just how that landscape developed.”
The escarpment land belongs to Madame Strychar, Montessori School’s French teacher and her husband Mr. Bodnar, who graciously accommodate the biannual student exercise. After hiking into the gorge, the children work in teams to plan, carve-out, and landscape their miniature rivers using the natural materials and terrain. “It is a great team-building exercise,” says Ms. Hourigan describing how the students have to divide up tasks and figure out a system for hauling water from the stream below to the source of their new rivers.
When the water runs, the children discover the impact water has on the landscape as gravity pulls it to the valley below. “They see what erodes, what alters the course of the water, what silts are carried and how deltas are formed,” explains Ms. Hourigan. “Some students inevitably get wet and dirty,” she adds laughing. A little dirt is well worth it. River-building is not only an effective learning exercise; it promotes central aspects of the Montessori curriculum: helping students gain respect for the environment and an appreciation of the interdependencies of nature. To top it off, it’s simply a lot of fun!
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