This week we had another lovely guest speaker! Kirsten Pierce is an Elementary/Middle school teacher who is passionate about environmental science and place-based education in STEAM.

We talked about how technology can help students learn about their local environment but also allows students to explore international environments. It may be impossible to actually visit the pyramids in Egypt but Google Earth and YouTube videos can make it feel pretty real! The class discussed technical tools such as Fitbits, Google Earth/Maps, photography, videography, as well as Moon phase apps and plant identification apps! Kirsten proceeded to talk about place-based learning and learning through a two-eyed lens, which is a way of thinking that I believe is very impactful and important. It forces students to potentially be pushed out of their comfort zone and negates any biases in the classroom.

Kirsten pointed out that Environmental Science is only offered in grade 11 and 12 in BC. This made me think about the consequences of this system. What habits could have been instilled if students learned more about environmental science? Our discussion in class also touched on how this subject is also taught from the negative perspective. If environmental science taught more frequently, it would not be such a touchy, scary subject. Maybe students would be more picky about where and when they eat meet? Maybe their dream car would be an electric car? Maybe they wouldn’t litter?

We were lucky enough to explore the beautiful Finnerty Gardens on the UVIC campus. We walked as a class and then split into small groups! My group spent a lot of time using the “Seek” app to identify different plants. We talked about how nature can be a very relaxing place and mindfulness could be taken outside. Other people talked about looking at the environment during different seasons.

Here is my group on ur walk! This is also a screenshot of the app we were using! The species pops up after every scan!