The Cove River Site provides a perfect opportunity....
Local Community Open Spaces provide a perfect opportunity for the general public, as well as local area students and educators - both formal and informal, scout troups, and other interest groups to explore the local landscape, and its plants and animals. The Cove River Site provides a special setting for local place-based inquiry.
Since the city of West Haven purchased the Cove River Site land, a group of dedicated residents has been hard at work developing formal and informal learning opportunities dessigned to help any and all visitors gain a better understanding of the importance of open spaces in their community.
Environmental Education @ Cove River
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During the Spring of
2009 a team of environmental educator from
SCSU's Master of Science in Environmental Educaiton program visited the
Cove River Site a number of times to explore the various habitats to
help them build a collection of lessons for place-based outdoor
learning opportunities. Following a semester of collaborative work in developing lesson activities, these MAster Environmental Educators worked with a group of very special students to test out the activities at the site. Thanks to all for a great time! |
In the SCCSU curriculum writing workshop they worrked to develop EE lessons that would engage learners in a variety of inquiry activities including the following: LESSONS
- Cove River Historical Site - Creating a Historical Timeline
- Navigating the Landscape - Geocaching
- People and Cultures - Natie American Site Introduction - Approaching the land with reverence - smudging.
- Soils
- Native Flora - plants of the region and habitats of coastal CT
- Native Fauna - animals of the region - birds
- Invasite and non-Native sepcies - invasive plants
- All about Insects
- Native and Colonial Agriculture
- Water and its uses - water quality
Environmental Science Education @ Cove River
Other Environmental Science activities conducted at the Cove River Site include SCSU Graduate and Undergraduate as well as local West Haven High School Environmental Science students using the GLOBE Program field observation strategies to gather information and data. These field investigations follow an Earth Systems Science approach. For each of 4 earth "spheres" - Geosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere and Atmosphere - field data are collected for analysis and sharing with the broader GLOBE Program community, which includes students from over 110 different countries.
SCSU Science Educaton & Environmental Studies - Cove River Historical Site GLOBE Investigations... coming soon!
- Geoshere investigations
- Hydrosphere investigations
- Biosphere investigations
- Atmosphere investigations
- other investigations
Mr. Kevin Dickson's Environmental Science and Ecology Classes - West Haven High School... coming soon!
Student Investigations: Zizi Yu's Hydrology Investigations..... coming soon!
Archaeology Education @ Cove River
The
Archaeological education activities occuring at the Cove River Site
have been directed by local experts in partnership with researchers
from the Yale Peabody Museum. A separate section ofthis website is
devoted to educational material, lessons and activities connected to
the history of human habitation and the story of native american life
ways at the site.
- Cove River Site Archaeology
- Local Native American life ways in coastal Connecticut
No Child Left Inside!
A generation of children are growing up with little opportunities taken to explore nature. What ever happened to un-structured play in our own backyards and neighborhood parks and open spaces. Where's my tree fort?
More than any other generation, today's kids spend a great deal of time indoors. No Child Left Inside℠ is a promise, and a pledge... to help Connecticut's children live active, healthier lives while they enjoy the natural treasures of our state parks and forests - and discover the rewards of becoming environmentally conscious citizens.
- Connecticut State Department of Environmental Quality - No Child Left Inside website!
Nature Deficit Disorder!
The term “nature-deficit disorder” was coined by author Richard Louv in his book “Last Child in the Woods” to describe what happens to young people who become disconnected from their natural world. Louv links this lack of nature to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity, attention disorders, and depression.
Green outdoor settings appear to reduce ADHD symptoms in children across a wide range of individual, residential, and case characteristics. - Kuo and Taylor, NIH article
- A National Coalition for Environmental Education - No Child Left Inside website!
