Our work experience in Environmental Education
We work in outdoor environmental education field from 1994, when we began to participate in International Summer Ecological Field Schools in Muraviovka Park (Russian Far East). Before these schools, in frameworks of the same project, we found eco-club called "Zhuravlik" (Crane) in March of 1994 and began our outdoor classes with activities in three villages that surround Muraviovka Park. During these classes, we traveled around the park, observing plants, birds, and mammals, playing games and doing simple research work. In first Summer Ecological Field School (summer 1994) we helped school teachers from New Jersey to organize classes and proposed our developed activity "Build a Nest" that we implemented together with our American colleagues. We participated in same Field Schools in 1995-1997, helping to organize outdoor activities and including our own ones in schools' programs. In 1995, we developed and worked on Green Trail Project that included building a 2mi. trail and creating educational materials and excursion programs for different ages. From 1995, we also worked with school-children groups that came to the Muraviovka park from different other regions with excursions. In rainy days, when the construction of Visit Center didn't finish, we conduct classes in our house (photo on the slider below).
After Muraviovka Park, we began to work at the University High School (Lyceum) as ecology and biology teachers. For ten years period (1998-2008) with some breaks for studying and working in other places, we conducted traditional indoor classes and participated in 6 Summer Green Schools of Lyceum, and in 17 Seasonal Field Trips (3-days field trips to the tourist base) and leaded more than 40 projects of students mini-groups. During Summer Schools and field trips, we continued to organize games, practice tasks, festivals, research, and emotional situations in a natural environment. Some of them that are developed by us, are introduced in a part "Activities". We also adapted some well-known activities for our natural conditions, level of kids' knowledge, and by adding some significant details and algorithms. Topics of our students' projects, including research work and practice actions, are shown in some examples in a part "Projects and Actions".
At the same time, we organized a Student Center of Environmental Initiatives "Makhaon" (Swallowtail) with students of Geography Department of the Blagoveschensk State Pedagogical University. This Center worked from 1998 to 2002 and included from 6 to 35 participants (mostly students) in different time periods. We inspired and leaded students to do simple research work in the city and its suburbs, such as bio-indication research using Lichen Indicator Method, dust pollution in the city using analysis of samples from different streets in all seasons, and research of tourist streams in natural sites of city’s suburbs. Twice a week we conducted regular classes and informational meetings for students and university teachers, and meetings with school teachers of our region, devoted to different environmental topics using elements of lectures, games, and practice tasks. Also, we organized Endangered Species Festival (1998) for the university students, Environmental Share Fairs (1998 and 1999) on the Central Square of our city, where we had more than 2000 visitors on each fair. Within frameworks of our Makhaon Center, we also implemented some regional projects that described in a part “Projects and Actions”
For the period from 1995 to 2003, we had several trips to the USA. In April of 1995, we traveled together to California, Wisconsin, and New Jersey to visit schools of teachers who participated in International Summer Ecological Field Schools in Muraviovka Park in 1994. During this trip, we represented cranes and wetlands with slides and stories in 14 schools, two universities, also we visited environmental education centers, nature preserves, and parks, and spent seven days at International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin. In 22nd of April, we participated in Earth Day in Washington D.C. This trip was sponsored by Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation (USA).
In 1998, Natasha traveled to Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and Washington D.C. with the group of filmmakers from Primorski Krai (Russia) for making a documentary about education in nature educational centers of the USA. She helped to producer interviewing staff and analyzing educational methods in nature educational centers of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and suburbs of the Birmingham city. At the same trip, their group participated in a Conference of North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) in Atlanta, Georgia. Natasha was a member of this association for a further year.
In 1999, Sergei participated in the GreenCom symposium at NAAEE Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, and reported about Environmental Education in the Russian Far East with a presentation. Also, Sergei was a NAAEE member for a period from 1999 to 2000.
From July of 2002 to December of 2003, Sergei studied at Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff, AZ) and get Master’s Degree in Rural Geography. His thesis was devoted to ecotourism supply in the Russian Far East, but significant part of it included Environmental Education issues. During this study, Sergei visited some more national parks, national forests, and lots of natural sites without protection status. Also, he worked as a volunteer for National Park Service at Walnut Canyon National Monument (Arizona) for three months, where he helped to communicate with visitors at informational desk and trails.
In 2009, we worked on Project “Ecotourism as an Alternative” and organized some field trips and ecological demo-tours with environmental educational activities for students of International Business and Tourism Department of the Amur State University, for members of regional non-governmental organizations, and staff of regional tourism agencies. Also, we published 4 kinds of brochures devoted to tourist sites of our region.
From 2010 to recent time, Natasha works as a Biochemistry teacher at the Medicine Academy and helps in organizing environmental events sometimes. Sergei works as a university teacher at International Business and Tourism Department (Amur State University) and organizes environmental education activities, classes, and meetings with school teachers of our region. For example, some field activities were organized with school-kids in three summer camps in city suburbs (2010, 2011, 2014), four field trips for visiting Chinese students with excursions to the forest, games, practice tasks, guitar eco-songs, and presentations. These trips and events inspire the development of new activities and practical tasks in a natural environment that would be helpful for many other school teachers, naturalists, and tour guides. Meetings with school teachers are also an important part of Sergei’s work because they coordinate efforts in using new methods of environmental education. Within frameworks of the Russian Geographic Society, Sergei as a regional coordinator of educational work in this organization and published some brochures, and also met school-teachers in 2016.
Our new project, Birdwatching Eco-Lodge, began in 2016 with the construction of small cabin in natural site with a lot of field and forest birds. We hope our lodge will be visited by local residents and foreign tourists who have interest in birdwatching, and we recently connect with Wild Bird Societies and Birdwatching organizations in the USA and Europe.
In summer of 2016, Sergei visited national parks and national monuments of California and Arizona to inspire for some new games, stands, and songs, and also to learn some new tendencies in tourism.
Muir Woods National Monument, CA
Yosemite National Park, CA
In July of 2016, we visited Khinganski Nature Preserve in our region and participated in Summer Camp of our regional NGO members, mostly retired people. We organized some games, eco-songs evening, and origami class since a camp works every year inside a preserve, where lotus flowers bloom, and rare cranes are nesting.
Lotus Flower, Khinganski Nature Preserve
Natasha leads an Origami Master Class "How to Make a Crane", Khinganski Nature Preserve
Our family represent cranes on Field Environmental Festival, Khinganski Nature Preserve
Sergei leads an Origami Master Class "How to Make a Lotus Flower", Khinganski Nature Preserve
Outdoor environmental education, wherever and whenever it is, is a great opportunity to be closer to nature. It is an opportunity to a child or adult to be surprised and even inspired and amazed by the beauty of a flower, animal, rock, or landscape, by unusual forms and patterns, by behavior and anything that makes animals similar to us, or so different from us! The great value is to stay alone with the natural environment, even for a while, for a minute, for a day... Just go as far as you can before sunset to the forest or blooming plain, reaching the lake bank or river downstream, birdwatching site or huge relict tree. Pay an equal attention to small creatures and general landscapes around. Photos, audio- and video materials, descriptions, stories, poetry, and songs allow visitors to see and hear these natural sites in different seasons and weathers to understand much more, later indoor or still outdoor. All these memories and knowledge will reflect somehow in their lives, in their behavior, perception of this world, and actions. Here is our song devoted to the value of being in nature called "Ecotourists Song"