NEWS

​

Freedom School Scholars enjoy a day’s fun at the Roosevelt Wilson Park.

For three weeks this summer, the Davidson Lands Conservancy had the honor of teaching natural science to scholars attending the Brenda H. Tapia CDF Freedom Schools at Davidson College summer enrichment camps, held on the Ada Jenkins Center campus. Originally developed in the 1990s to address education inequality, Freedom School camps provide community-focused summer enrichment for area scholars in kindergarten through eighth grade and include literacy programming, music, art, exercise, and educational enrichment.

The Davidson Lands Conservancy provided the scholars with environmental education lessons on such topics as pollination, biodiversity, pollution, and local food webs. They used nature walks, labs, and crafts to help make learning fun and accessible. The scholars’ favorite activities included a tree scavenger hunt, dissecting pinecones and flowers, and, of course, fishing with dip nets at the Roosevelt Wilson Park Pond.

This hands-on, outdoor education supports the DLC’s mission of promoting a conservation ethic. The interactive aspects of the lessons, like holding wildlife in their bare hands, are vital to developing a life-long appreciation for Davidson’s green spaces. The community’s care for the natural world is the best safeguard against habitat loss. The science education also aims to benefit the young scholars as they return to school in the fall, with a hoped-for, fresh curiosity for natural processes.

Freedom School Scholars net fishing at Roosevelt Wilson Park under the watchful eyes of Davidson Lands Conservancy teachers