Quinlan Friel, Grade 3 of Albany Township, gathers loose parts from nature for his tinker tray.

The Boxberry School in Harrison is utilizing a new curriculum framework this year as they work toward Educating for Sustainability (EfS). Seal Rossignol, Administrative Coordinator for the school, attended a week-long summer institute at Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, Vermont in July, where she received training in understanding the tenets of EfS, which include place-based education, project-based learning, service learning, and systems thinking. She is bringing this information back to Boxberry and working with new staffers Deanna Fahey and Cassandra Harmon to design curriculum around these pedagogies.

The first Learning Expedition of the year is titled “Magnificent Mapmakers – Exploring Our World.” Through this unit, students will learn the basics of mapmaking and then apply them to their school campus before venturing into local towns later in the year. Educating for Sustainability has place-based education at its heart, embodying the idea that you can care for a place until you love it. The staff at Boxberry is excited to bring this understanding to light in their students and community.