Hichborn Middle School

Howland, ME

As a part of their physical education and health classes, middle school students learn how to use GPS units and mapping software to create maps of local snowmobile trails. The old maps were dangerously vague. New maps produced by students include written descriptions, and are distributed for public use.

Field Study Program Design Project

Goodwill-Hinckley Homes for Boys & Girls/L.C. Bates Museum

Hinckley, ME

Middle and high school students at a residential school for at-risk youth work with educators at an on-campus natural history museum to create a three-hour field study program for local schools, senior centers, and community organizations. As a service-learning project, students assist in designing and presenting the program, and collect materials for the museum.

Neighborhood Renewal Project

William Hunter Elementary School

Philadelphia, PA

Inner-city elementary students participate in the improvement and renewal of their school and community. Through partnerships with neighborhood organizations, students restore the adjacent school garden and adopted a city block. Field trips to local nature centers and suburban areas allow students to compare different neighborhoods and spark restoration ideas for their own communities.

Antrim Center Project

Great Brook Middle School

Antrim, NH

In response to a request from the Antrim Conservation Commission, sixth- and seventh-grade students and teachers take on the responsibility for surveying a 15-acre piece of land. They communicate with adjoining landowners, plan a trail, design trail signs, and work with a graphic artist to design a trail brochure. This previously unused town land now serves as a local park.

Navajo Gardening Project

Navajo Mountain High School

Tonalea, AZ

Students at Navajo Mountain High School construct a greenhouse and plant a garden that emphasizes Navajo cultural history and provides produce to the community's elders. The interdisciplinary project includes a mentoring component between high school and middle school students.

Bread Baking Oven and Business

Great Brook Middle School

Antrim, NH

Alternative program students construct a traditional, wood-fired Quebecois bread oven on the school grounds. A student-run company bakes bread in the oven and sells it. Working with the fire department chief, local artisans, and business people, students get a full immersion in the challenges of making a living.

Florida Habitat Garden

Casselberry Elementary School

Casselberry, FL

Students create outdoor classrooms that focus around habitat for box turtles, lizards, butterflies, and native flowers. The fifth-grade gardening club maintains the outdoor classrooms. They participate in the Monarch Watch program and establish a student-run company to raise and sell monarch chrysalids. They have received hundreds of orders from teachers and students.

Welcome to Gorham

Gorham Elementary School

Gorham, NH

Third-grade students work with a local author to write a children's book about Gorham's past, present, and future. Local artists coach students on how to make their drawings consistent and effective. They publish the book in full color and distribute it throughout the community.

Urban Rangers

The Urban Rangers

The Urban Rangers program uses bicycles to teach that just as a bike can be repaired, a community torn by neglect and violence can also be repaired. Youth work with a professional bike mechanic to refurbish bikes for resale. Participants gain skills in conflict mediation and take part in community service projects such as designing a wildlife habitat garden.

Air Quality Sleuths

U-32 High School

Montpelier, VT

U-32 Jr/Sr High School relocates its drop-off area for buses. Students concerned with air quality team up with AirNet to survey the air quality at the bus stop. They gatherer chemical data, and identify and map lichens as indicators of air quality. Students are asked to develop recommendations to improve air quality based on their findings, and report their conclusions to the school board and community.

Sutton History Questing Project

Sutton Central Elementary School

Sutton Mills, NH

Elementary students collaborate with the local historical society to investigate their town's history. Students conduct interviews with selectmen, the chief of police, the town historian, and storytellers, and explore their community's architecture and physical features. The study culminates in an art show and the creation of a "Quest" — a treasure hunt that highlights the town's history.

Groveton Heritage Project

Groveton Elementary School

Groveton, NH

The Groveton Heritage Project was designed to improve school/community relations and foster student learning through place-based education. Students put together oral history of Groveton. They interview community members, study historical photos, and work with local musicians to compose music to accompany their project.

Air & Water Quality Program

Bellows Falls Union High School

Westminster, VT

High school students monitor local air and water quality in the Connecticut River Valley to deepen their understanding of the importance of clean air and water. They report their findings back to the community through a student-built website, slide presentations to senior citizens, and production of a television program aired on local television.

Reclaiming the Land

Millcreek Elementary

Hemlock, OH

Ohio's Mill Creek School is surrounded by reclaimed mining land, including a 250-acre tree farm and a 2,600-acre wildlife area. Students visit these areas to examine the history and impact of coal mining in their area and environmentally sound options for reclaiming the land. Students document their discoveries in journals and conduct public presentations for the school and community.

Reading the Forested Landscape

The Compass School

Westminster Station, VT

Eighth graders explore the community and land surrounding their school to uncover clues to human land use over the past 300 years. Students create a series of "Quests," self-guided treasure hunts that take followers on an educational tour of local points of interest. The Quests are published in a student-designed booklet and on the web, so that they can be used by families for years to come.

River Check

Northstar Academy

Richmond, VA

Students design scientific experiments and take field trips to a local river, water treatment plant, and wastewater treatment plant to learn about local water pollution. They study stormwater runoff, erosion and deposition, nutrient overloading, groundwater, acid rain, and limnology. Students present their findings and suggestions for improvement to the affected counties, the city, and the State Department of Agriculture.

Mapping McCabe

Great Brook Middle School

Antrim, NH

Fifth graders explore and map the flora and fauna of McCabe Forest. Art activities, field and book research help them create maps that are scientifically accurate and aesthetically beautiful.

Gorham Town Forest

Gorham High School

Gorham, NH

Gorham High School students work with the town forester and the Appalachian Mountain Club to develop experiences that immerse students in the town forest. These include a freshman orientation, an ecology-based experience for sophomores, a water chemistry experience for juniors, and a support structure for the seniors to do projects based in the Town Forest that promote the forest's preservation.

Songbird Welcome Center

Marion Springs Elementary #348

Baldwin City, KS

Elementary students in Kansas restore songbird habitat at the Marion Springs Environmental Center. High school shop students, biologists, and a local artist help students construct birdbaths, benches, and feeders, and selected soil amendments. A fourth- and fifth-grade recycling program partially funds the project. Success is measured by monitoring use of the plot by birds, students, and community members.

(Source: https://promiseofplace.org/stories-from-the-field/vignettes)