Getting Ready for the Challenge Trail
Dear Teachers,
You should be able to find everything you need to make the Challenge Trail visit a successful and enjoyable day. Here you can find the following materials:
We can accommodate up to 24 students per visit. If you have more than 24 students, please contact the Program Director at 603-357-3122 x 292. The Challenge Trail will not be open on rainy days; therefore, we may need to do some juggling in the event of rain. Reservations will be made on a first-come, first-serve basis. You need to arrive at 9:00am sharp. The program will end by 1:00pm. You must commit to being on the Challenge Trail for 4 hours. Students should carry their own snacks and lunches in a backpack.
Preparing Chaperones The trail is designed to accommodate up to four groups of 4-6 students each. Therefore, you will need to come with one adult chaperone for each group. Wild Treasures trains and hires Antioch New England Graduate students to be Trail Assistants. As Trail Assistants, they will help facilitate a group along the Challenge Trail. In the event that a Trail Assistant isn’t available on the day of your visit, a chaperone will need to play this important role. In this capacity, Trail Assistants should feel comfortable helping students figure out for themselves solutions to the problems along the Challenge Trail.
Please disseminate the “Dear Chaperone” letter and “Program Description” at least two weeks in advance of your reservation. Please remind your chaperones to bring a packed lunched in a backpack and to dress for being outdoors for 4 hours and that hiking boots are strongly recommended.
Preparing Students About two weeks before you arrive, you should begin preparing your students for the Challenge Trail. Students should review their own copies of the enclosed “Dear Students” letter and “Program Description.” Your students should also complete the activities described in the “Before You Arrive” instruction sheet. Please remind your students to dress for being outdoors for 4 hours and that hiking boots are strongly recommended. Students should bring a backpack loaded with water, snack and lunch. They will eat on the Challenge Trail.
You and your students do not need any prior knowledge about sustainability or ecology in order to participate. Rather, all that is needed is a willingness to work cooperatively with teammates, and a desire to solve some interesting and engaging problems.
Sneak Preview Enclosed is a sneak preview of what your students will encounter along the Challenge Trail. So that your students can be fully surprised,
this sneak preview is for you and your chaperone’s eyes only.
Along the Challenge Trail your students will have to solve a series of problems that will expose them to five big interrelated concepts about sustainability. They’ll sort lots of stuff into different bins and figure out the meaning of waste. They’ll race to create piles of leaves to experience first-hand the meaning of exponential growth. They will examine a bunch of stuff that was buried under different conditions, predict which scenario best represents the landfill, and learn that landfills, unlike any process in Nature, are designed to prevent the recycling of matter. They will mine, refine, manufacture and consume packets of energy, and in doing so learn about positive and negative feedback loops. They will observe a solar panel, gas generator, and pedal generator powering boom boxes that pose provocative challenges that will help them explore the meaning of entropy, the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Finally, they will be presented with a variety of consumer choices that will challenge them to paint a portrait of their lifestyle unencumbered by any constraints and begin to consider how these big concepts relate to their personal lifestyle choices.
In every phase of Wild Treasures (Research, Proposal and Action) your students will return repeatedly to these main ideas: waste, exponential growth, cycling, feedback loops, and entropy. They will research these ideas relative to your school’s operation. They will use these ideas to propose to your school board a plan to improve the sustainability profile of your school. And they will turn their proposal into action by actually improving your school’s sustainability profile. Little do they know that they are about to embark on a deep inquiry into some big ideas that will change the way they think about themselves, their culture, and future generations.
We are very excited to have you participate in Wild Treasures: Sustainability, Naturally and we look forward to your arrival. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call.
Sincerely, Jimmy Karlan, Ed.D. Senior Project Manager
You should be able to find everything you need to make the Challenge Trail visit a successful and enjoyable day. Here you can find the following materials:
- Directions on how to book your reservation for the Challenge Trail and suggestions for finding good chaperones.
- A letter to “Chaperones” that must be distributed to those adults who will assist you at the Challenge Trail.
- A “Dear Students” letter introducing your students to Wild Treasures and providing them with the inspiration and motivation for participation. You will need to copy and distribute this letter to your students as well.
- A Program Description should be copied and distributed to each of your chaperones and presented to your students.
- A check-list of instructions for what you need to do before you arrive.
We can accommodate up to 24 students per visit. If you have more than 24 students, please contact the Program Director at 603-357-3122 x 292. The Challenge Trail will not be open on rainy days; therefore, we may need to do some juggling in the event of rain. Reservations will be made on a first-come, first-serve basis. You need to arrive at 9:00am sharp. The program will end by 1:00pm. You must commit to being on the Challenge Trail for 4 hours. Students should carry their own snacks and lunches in a backpack.
Preparing Chaperones The trail is designed to accommodate up to four groups of 4-6 students each. Therefore, you will need to come with one adult chaperone for each group. Wild Treasures trains and hires Antioch New England Graduate students to be Trail Assistants. As Trail Assistants, they will help facilitate a group along the Challenge Trail. In the event that a Trail Assistant isn’t available on the day of your visit, a chaperone will need to play this important role. In this capacity, Trail Assistants should feel comfortable helping students figure out for themselves solutions to the problems along the Challenge Trail.
Please disseminate the “Dear Chaperone” letter and “Program Description” at least two weeks in advance of your reservation. Please remind your chaperones to bring a packed lunched in a backpack and to dress for being outdoors for 4 hours and that hiking boots are strongly recommended.
Preparing Students About two weeks before you arrive, you should begin preparing your students for the Challenge Trail. Students should review their own copies of the enclosed “Dear Students” letter and “Program Description.” Your students should also complete the activities described in the “Before You Arrive” instruction sheet. Please remind your students to dress for being outdoors for 4 hours and that hiking boots are strongly recommended. Students should bring a backpack loaded with water, snack and lunch. They will eat on the Challenge Trail.
You and your students do not need any prior knowledge about sustainability or ecology in order to participate. Rather, all that is needed is a willingness to work cooperatively with teammates, and a desire to solve some interesting and engaging problems.
Sneak Preview Enclosed is a sneak preview of what your students will encounter along the Challenge Trail. So that your students can be fully surprised,
this sneak preview is for you and your chaperone’s eyes only.
Along the Challenge Trail your students will have to solve a series of problems that will expose them to five big interrelated concepts about sustainability. They’ll sort lots of stuff into different bins and figure out the meaning of waste. They’ll race to create piles of leaves to experience first-hand the meaning of exponential growth. They will examine a bunch of stuff that was buried under different conditions, predict which scenario best represents the landfill, and learn that landfills, unlike any process in Nature, are designed to prevent the recycling of matter. They will mine, refine, manufacture and consume packets of energy, and in doing so learn about positive and negative feedback loops. They will observe a solar panel, gas generator, and pedal generator powering boom boxes that pose provocative challenges that will help them explore the meaning of entropy, the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Finally, they will be presented with a variety of consumer choices that will challenge them to paint a portrait of their lifestyle unencumbered by any constraints and begin to consider how these big concepts relate to their personal lifestyle choices.
In every phase of Wild Treasures (Research, Proposal and Action) your students will return repeatedly to these main ideas: waste, exponential growth, cycling, feedback loops, and entropy. They will research these ideas relative to your school’s operation. They will use these ideas to propose to your school board a plan to improve the sustainability profile of your school. And they will turn their proposal into action by actually improving your school’s sustainability profile. Little do they know that they are about to embark on a deep inquiry into some big ideas that will change the way they think about themselves, their culture, and future generations.
We are very excited to have you participate in Wild Treasures: Sustainability, Naturally and we look forward to your arrival. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call.
Sincerely, Jimmy Karlan, Ed.D. Senior Project Manager