The Science Friday program was developed in partnership with the McGovern Elementary School in Roseburg, Oregon. The program was created in response to the school dropping Friday from their school week due to budget cuts across Douglas County. Through grants from the Charlotte Martin Foundation and the Gray Family Foundation, I raised over $6000 to pilot a 12-week environmental education curriculum focused on skills and techniques related to forest management.
For two hours every Friday between November and February, 10 to 15 sixth graders from the school attended the two-hour sessions where they learned about navigation with compasses and GPS units; calculating tree heights; and creating bio-char with waste woody material. The Science Friday program was very successful with subsequent AmeriCorps members expanding the program into other schools in Roseburg. Learn more about Umpqua Watershed's education programs here.