ECO (Educating Children Outdoors) at MES
A nonprofit fundraiser supporting
Moretown School PtoWe're raising funds to ensure that the ECO program will continue at MES next school year and beyond
$3,025
raised by 40 people
$3,000 goal
Our 2020 fundraiser is complete! If you wish to contribute to the ongoing needs of ECO at MES please contact us at Ecofriendsvt@gmail.com. We appreciate your support!
For the last several years our ECO program has been fully funded thanks to a generous silent donor whose annual gift is matched by the School Board. Additionally, Moretown School has received a discounted rate from Northbranch Nature Center, our invaluable partner in implementing the program. Beginning Fall 2020, however, this discounted rate expires and we as a school community will, for the first time, be responsible for funding the remaining $4,000 gap to meet the full cost of the program (full price is $18,000 annually). We are raising money to fill this gap for next year and beyond, and to replenish necessary tools and supplies in order to maintain and expand our outdoor classrooms.
Your $35 contribution can sponsor one student for the entire year.
Corporate sponsors or those wishing to contribute by check can use this form, complete with mailing instructions and sponsorship levels and benefits.
What is ECO?
ECO (Educating Children Outdoors) is a standards-based nature-immersion program in which Northbranch Nature Center’s professional nature educators partner with Moretown Elementary PreK through 2nd grade teachers and students for several hours on a weekly basis. In outdoor classrooms desks are replaced by stumps and logs; students focus on the campfire instead of the blackboard; pens and computers are traded for tools such as saws, shovels, and sticks. Not only does this forest-based learning help students meet Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards, but ECO’s equally important goal is to help children and their schools develop a lasting relationship with the natural world, fostering a sense of place and stewardship in our local Vermont community.
Why is ECO Important?
Beyond ECO’s ability to teach official curriculum, the social and emotional benefits of ECO are undeniable. Preschoolers run down the hill back to school, rosy cheeked and covered in mud on a bitter November day yelling, "we're brave preschoolers!" After the flooding from Hurricane Irene, teachers noted how the students processed their emotions and fears in the forest far more easily than in the classroom, building whole villages complete with fully functioning sewer systems. These experiences become our children’s narrative about themselves – as brave people who work together and can indeed solve seemingly insurmountable world problems.
According to their teachers, our children’s time in the forest each week sparks in them joy and happiness, deepens their social connections, builds confidence and teamwork, enhances problem solving skills, promotes creativity and offers them a place to process emotions through work and play. Current economic research shows that a child’s development of these “soft skills” is essential to his or her long-term happiness and success as an adult. Similarly, Neuroscientists are discovering that teaching kindness and teamwork skills strengthens the very pathways in a child’s brain that are used in reading and math. In these ways, our ECO program is a vital and cutting-edge compliment to our children's indoor education.
Forest Festival February 15th 2020, 2-4pm
In conjuction with these fundraising efforts, we are hosting a Forest Festival to invite the community to Moretown Elementary School's outdoor ECO classrooms for an afternoon of community gathering, nature appreciation, and fun. Bring your loved ones to the forests of MES for sledding, campfires, classroom tours, nature walks, wood-fired food and hot drinks to be shared among neighbors and friends. More love grows here indeed!
Event Details at https://moretowneco.wixsite.com/forestfestival
or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/825056854622236/