Mrs. O. Looks for Green

Margaret Olgeirson traveled to Belize on a trip organized by the North American Association of Environmental Education.

Mrs. O. Looks for

Green

margaret olgeirson lower school science teacher

Over the 24 years that I have taught in the Lower School, sharing science with enthusiastic and curious little boys, my interest in environmental education and my awareness of the need for all of us to become more respectful of nature has grown. The boys and I have learned together about the world around us, and I’ve realized that there is so much more to understand.

In 2009, I submitted a proposal for the Riepe Family Sabbatical, with a goal to study environmental literacy at home and abroad. I was eager to learn what is taught about environmental issues in other places and how our efforts at Gilman measure by comparison.

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Of course, I was thrilled to hear that I had received the Riepe Sabbatical for the spring 2010 semester. Though the sabbatical gave me the gift of time to become a globetrotting ecological explorer, my first trips were in Gilman’s backyard. Locally, I visited our neighboring schools to exchange ideas and consider their environmental activities. I found that most maintain gardens similar to our own.

Many enrich their teaching by creative uses of their campuses and the outdoors.

All had recycling and composting programs comparable to ours. Some had earned the “Green School” accreditation, as we have in the Lower School. It is encouraging to know we are all helping the next generation prepare for the future of our environment.

I also visited a local farm, where we talked about the need for sustainable farms and the benefits of eating locally.

I worked with the farm to have a hands-on experience, and I gained an appreciation of gardening on a grand level.

I also made a great discovery at the Great Kids Farm, located in Catonsville.

Its mission is to provide opportunities for Baltimore City students to understand and participate in every aspect of food preparation — from seed to fork — and prepare them to lead 21st century sustainability efforts. After spring break, I took our first graders to the farm for a tour and to learn all the steps a gardener takes to eventually reap a harvest.

I also explored the New York Botanical Gardens, Longwood Gardens, Ladew Gardens and the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens to enrich my interest in making gardening with children exciting and rewarding for them. I have so many new ideas about what to plant, when to plant and how to plant in our own Lower School garden.

I’m not sure who will reap the most from our efforts, the boys or me!

I enjoyed touring the Philip Merrill Environmental Center, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s new green building. Its design, construction and operation reflect the CBF’s mission to protect and restore

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the Bay. The CBF’s Chesapeake Classroom programs help teachers like me focus on methods to incorporate environmental education into the core subject areas of reading, math, science and social studies.

There are often opportunities for students to plant bay grasses, bed oysters or collect acorns from our campus to be planted in needed areas of our watershed.

Participating in these activities helps our students extend their experiences beyond our classrooms.

I also ventured well beyond the Bay, joining a trip to Belize through the North American Association of Environmental Education to explore the country’s unique environment and the challenges it faces. As a group we visited the famous Belize Zoo, which houses representative plants and animals of the rainforest and raises money to help save this special environment. We visited with the Maya people and learned about their enduring culture. Gardening is very important to the Maya, and they explained how they pass on their knowledge of plants by protecting ancient sites and establishing school gardens. We toured howler monkey and jaguar sanctuaries established and maintained by the Maya to protect these important animals from the human invasion of their natural habitats.

Just off the coast, we discovered fragile mangrove and coral reef ecosystems.

I was very impressed by the love and understanding the Maya have for their environment and their conviction to protect it for the future.

Each year in Lower School science, we explore a specific biome. This year, we studied the oceans. I explained to the boys how the mangroves I visited are like nurseries for the oceans. I was also able to tell them through firsthand observation about what happens when part of the ecosystem is removed, as was the case of a tiny island that Smithsonian scientists were trying to preserve as they study this fragile ecosystem.

Since returning to Gilman, Olgeirson has raised funds for Bakau Lower School and encouraged second-grade pen pals.

“It’s exciting to continue my relationship with this school and its students,” she says.

Mrs. O. visits the garden at the Bakau Lower Basic School in The Gambia.

Jackie Knipp, left, and Margaret Olgeirson with Gambian children. During Mrs. O.’s sabbatical, Jackie Knipp, the Lower School art teacher, was awarded the Walter Lord Sabbatical to travel to The Gambia in West Africa to visit her daughter Megan, who was a St. Mary’s College student studying abroad.

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Gilman Lower School boys raised $195 for the Bakau Lower Basic School in The Gambia through an aluminum can drive in February 2011.

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During my sabbatical, Jackie Knipp, the Lower School art teacher, was awarded the Walter Lord Sabbatical to travel to The Gambia in West Africa to visit her daughter Megan, who was a St. Mary’s College student studying abroad. Megan’s studies were specific to the environment, and she was working with the government to complete an ecological study. This opportunity was a perfect for me to join Jackie and Megan and to explore the workings of Gambian museums, gardens and municipal offices. We visited several different schools in the area and the teachers generously allowed us to help execute some of their lessons.

The needs of the students and faculty of the Bakau Lower Basic School made a big impression on me, and when I returned to Gilman this fall, I told my students about their need for lavatories for their students and for financial aid to help some children attend their school. We decided to help them, and we raised money from projects like aluminum can drives, a yard sale and a car wash. These efforts also help us support the environment. My second grade class has adopted some of the students as pen pals to help us learn more about their environment and culture.

We plan to share some of our science experiments, straw rockets and rock testing with them. It is exciting to continue my relationship with this school and its students.

After these two exciting trips, I looked to the Sierra Club to help me give back.

I traveled to New Mexico to join a group that would work at the Valles Caldera National Preserve to remove barbed wire fences that had been abandoned and were now causing problems for the indigenous wildlife. At the end of a hard day’s work, we were treated to lectures about native animals, like wolves and hawks, and the native culture of the Jemez Pueblo.

We spent one day tagging along with scientists as they studied the local flora and fauna and set up observation stations.

At the end of the day, we hoped to answer the question “What do ecologists and

environmentalists really do?” I learned that an ecologist is a synthesizer, someone who learns from every source, whether science, anthropology or geology, to learn about the relationships between living things and their environments. When we teach environmental literacy to the boys, we are all ecologists.

My next trip led me to Great Britain, a country long inspired by its environment.

The concept of environmental education is firmly established in the educational systems of England and Wales. Drawn by the green countryside of Wales, I visited beautiful national parks. The Ty’r Morwydd Environmental Study Centre and several schools offered information about their outdoor education programs. The English and Welsh are sensitive to the need of children to be in nature, and take advantage of nearby green spaces to do so. I believe that their goal is the same as ours: to encourage children to enjoy and respect the outdoors.

During the summer my husband and I traveled to China. Our tour included the cities of Beijing, Xi’an, Guilin, Yangshuo and Shanghai. We traveled with a diverse group, including teachers and students.

While seeing significant sites and being informed about history and culture, we asked about education and the environment.

The Chinese people are very aware of environmental issues and what is happening as a result of their actions and growth.

Their efforts could be seen as we traveled around the country.

This enormous country has found itself on the world stage as it has hosted the 2008 Olympics and the 2010 World Expo. The theme for the expo was “Better City, Better Life,” putting an emphasis on the global impact we all make on the environment.

Many countries were represented and each creatively shared its environmental philosophies. The expo was well attended and school children were excited by the ideas presented. Despite the distance I had traveled and the uniqueness of the country, I felt comfort in and confidence for the future from these young people.

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Since returning to my teaching responsibilities in the Lower School, I have had many opportunities to share and build on the learning I experienced during my sabbatical. I made a presentation to the students and faculty of the Lower School called “Mrs. O. Looking for GREEN.” During this presentation, I shared the pictures I had taken during my global travels to emphasize the awareness of environmental needs all over the world and the importance of making a difference through learning and deed. I also was a presenter during an Association of Independent Maryland Schools (AIMS) workshop for teachers, encouraging them to make a connection with nature as we extend our teaching to the outdoors.

My “Greenhounds” club continues to encourage green awareness around Gilman.

We are making a difference!

My goals include getting the boys out in the natural environment and helping them develop an informed respect for its well being. We will apply for recertification as a “Green School.” During Earth Week, we enlarged the Lower School garden to include more edible plants to share in the dining hall. We will participate in bay studies to help round out our local environmental relationship.

The sabbatical time and funds allowed me to travel widely and witness environmental education locally and globally. I explored an amazing world that must be seen and enjoyed! I witnessed how much people care about the environment, and that we are making a difference, no matter how small. The Riepe Sabbatical provided me an extraordinary opportunity to grow personally and professionally.

The experiences have inspired many new ways for me to enhance my teaching and engage my students in environmental awareness and action. I am indebted to the Riepe family for their generosity and support of Gilman School.

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The Riepe Family Sabbatical The Riepe Family Sabbatical rewards consistent excellence in teaching and promotes continuing educational development for the faculty. A member of the faculty from the Lower, Middle or Upper School each year will be awarded a semester sabbatical. To be eligible a faculty member must have been at Gilman for at least seven years and have achieved full teacher status.

Mr. and Mrs. James S. Riepe PP’94 generously established this endowed fund in 1999.

Recipients: 2011 – 2012 2010 – 2011 2009 – 2010 2008 – 2009 2007 – 2008 2006 – 2007 2005 – 2006 2004 – 2005 2003 – 2004 2002 – 2003 2001 – 2002 2000 – 2001

Neil Gabbey Karl Connolly Margaret Olgeirson Cynthia Woodruff Dallas Jacobs Linda Trapp Claudia Friddell Dan Christian Jerry Thornbery Steve Siwinski Meg Tipper Anton Vishio

The theme for the World Expo in Shanghai was “Better City, Better Life,� putting an emphasis on the global impact we all make on the environment.

Mrs. O. removes barbed wire fencing in the Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico. The abandoned fencing causes problems for indigenous wildlife.

The green hills of Wales.

The British are sensitive to the need of children to be in nature, and take advantage of nearby green spaces to do so.

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