Students Find Connections with Nature

Students learning scientific field techniques
Photo by Max Forster
This spring, hundreds of high school students from around the San Francisco Bay Area and Humboldt County explored coast redwood forests as scientists through the Redwood Education Programs offered by Save the Redwoods League. Students ventured out of the classroom and into the forest to connect to the natural world and learn about climate change and scientific field techniques.

In April, I led a group of students from Oakland Tech High School in a biodiversity plant walk. Together, we discovered the variety of plants beneath the redwood giants. We investigated what we found, asking questions about what we noticed and wondered about each organism such as, “where is the plant growing?” and “what environmental conditions does it rely on?”

As we touched, smelled, and observed California bay laurel, sword fern, coast live oak, and other native plants, we also considered the ethnobotanical uses each plant. Ethnobotany is the study of the interconnected relationships between plants and people across space, time, and cultures.

Student observes the sword fern leaves
Photo by Max Forster

Through detailed observation, the students hypothesized about possible current and historical uses of the plants of the redwoods forests. I was thrilled to witness students rethink how and where they acquire the materials needed for daily life and connect to the forest in a new way. The students smelled and touched California bay laurel and learned that it could be used as an insect repellent. One student proclaimed, “we need to protect nature because nature protects us!”

Nature connection and community-based participatory research are necessary for a sustainable and just future. Giving high school students to the opportunity to experience their innate connection to nature firsthand is an impactful and critical piece in a well-rounded education.

Learn more about the League’s Redwood Education Programs and how you can get involved.

About the author

Eileen is the Education and Parks Program Associate at Save the Redwoods League and a passionate environmental educator and naturalist. She is a San Francisco native with valuable professional experience with Bay Area environmental nonprofits, California State Parks, and the National Park Service.

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