"My favorite Field Trip was the play. It was so funny. It wasn't really like the book because when you do it in a play you have to add things, like more words. Good thing everyone liked it, especially me!"
Jasper, Kindergarten Our Earth Studies curriculum seeks to foster social responsibility in our children, along with an appreciation of the need to protect and preserve our environment. An important component of this is our program of Field Trips for students of all ages, and our annual Camps for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.

The trips are carefully designed to enable each student to apply the concepts and theory they have been discussing in the classroom, and draw together many strands of their curriculum including science, literature, social studies, mathematics and the arts. In addition, the overnight trips afford a wonderful opportunity to build community among 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders, and to put into practice concepts of peaceful living and conflict resolution studied in the classroom. By the time the buses are loading and heading back to the city, many new friendships have emerged and old ones are solidified!

Field Trip Details

All grades take field trips to natural sites within the city limits to study a number of ecology zones such as: Jamaica Wildlife Refuge, the Marshlands of Jamaica Refuge, and the Woodland Forrest Park. Other field trips include:

• Forrest Park
• Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
• Central Park Zoo
• Museum of Natural History
• Farmers Market (Union Square)
• Bird Watching in Prospect Park
• East River Estuary

Camp Details

For our overnight trips to Camp Ashokan upstate and Camp Speers-Elijabar in Pennsylvania, children are divided into smaller groups to participate in activities incorporating environmental lessons in the form of games or hands-on participation. The activities are largely outdoor and include the study of the following:

• Emergent flora
• North Woodland ecology
• Pond ecology
• Forest ecology
• Archeology
• Nature trail hikes
• Wild life ecology
• Survival skills
• Archery
• Trust building Confidence Courses

These trips significantly enhance the learning experience for our inner-city students and are vital to the overall hands-on research, environmental awareness agenda, and exploratory aspects of the curriculum.