Starting Education at Home
FUNDED: $9,000
MORE NEEDED: $0
Only a mile from the park entrance, Springdale Elementary educates students in Zion National Park’s backyard. Through a program designed to meet the specific needs of its students, Springdale Elementary received regular classroom visits during 2018 from a Zion park ranger. They also engaged with park rangers inside the Zion boundary, transforming the park into an outdoor laboratory. “I’ve taken myself to many of these places,” the Springdale Elementary Principal describes, “but to have those park rangers talk to my students in those spaces is absolutely incredible.” During 2018, each Springdale Elementary classroom participated in two Zion site visits where park rangers delivered curriculum-based learning experiences demonstrating erosion, explaining geology, and instructing about plant and animal life. In 2019, this project will continue to connect Springdale students to the unique landscape surrounding their school, and the park rangers working daily to protect it.