Boston's island classroom

It is mid-August and I haven't yet posted about my work in Boston Harbor this summer teaching environmental ed and leading teenagers in environmental stewardship projects on Thompson Island. It truly feels like I'm out on the front lines of outdoor education in the city of Boston. Thompson Island is one of the closest wilderness-type areas to most Boston Public Schools and full of potential for providing exceptional outdoor learning experiences for urban kids. Working non-stop from April to now (this in fact is the last week of the summer programs I'm involved in...but Fall programs will be starting up very soon), I have been trying not to lose focus on the big picture: that these kids we are educating each day are gaining invaluable experiences with nature that they wouldn't otherwise have. And it's only the tip of the iceberg. In the spring, Thompson Island only served two Boston middle schools--50 students each--in two one-night overnight programs. This summer, we served 40 students from one "turnaround" Roxbury middle school in a groundbreaking 4-week program, as well as 25 Boston-area high school students in a summer work program. Fall looks to be busier, but still, imagine if we could serve twelve schools a season (a school a week, IslandWood-style). Thompson Island could become a rite of passage for Boston kids, a thing they could all look forward to and then look back on for the rest of their lives, for them to share with one another and use as a common ground. How amazing would that be?

I hope to turn over a new leaf on this blog and start reporting from the field on happenings in environmental ed in Boston Harbor and beyond. Feeling fortunate for some breathing room over the next couple of weeks; and then ready to dive right in again!