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Environmental Education
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Sycamore Land Trust’s Environmental Education Program:
Connecting People with Nature in Southern Indiana
The Pinnacle Trail at Lake Lemon Woods
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Above:
Students from Bloomington’s Pinnacle School and from
Indiana University’s Health, Physical Education, and Recreation
Department work at SLT’s Lake Lemon Woods to fashion a trail
for blind and
visually-impaired people. Lake Lemon is in the background.
At right: Teacher Allison Hess with fifth-grader
Emily Briggs
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In a ground-breaking partnership
shared by
* Sycamore Land Trust,
* Pinnacle School in Bloomington,
* Indiana University’s School of Health and Physical Education, and
* the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually impaired in
Indianapolis,
various ages of students are working on a trail which will eventually be
outfitted for use by blind and visually-impaired hikers.
Pinnacle School has served as a team of volunteer stewards for SLT’s
Lake Lemon Woods nature preserve since 2006, clearing trash from the
property and studying its plants and animals. Pinnacle students
are working on
building a trail that will eventually be outfitted for use by blind and
visually-impaired people. Ongoing
hands-on (and brains-on!) activities help students understand and
integrate concepts in construction, botany, visual impairment, teamwork,
teaching, hiking and much more.
IU-HPER students are assisting in
planning and construction, and Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
professionals are consulting, all coordinated by SLT’s Environmental
Education Coordinator, Carroll Ritter.
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Above and above right:
Pinnacle students practice leading visually impaired hikers.
Right: Workers from ages 8 to 60! |
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All photos by
Carroll Ritter |
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