Teachers: Katelyn Livingstone, Crystal Poole, & Shane Duenow
Grade & Subject: 7th Grade Humanities & Makers
School: High Tech Middle Media Arts

In this scientific & cultural study of San Diego native plants, students explored biodiversity and plant adaptations in San Diego, examined the importance of plants through past and present, connected with nature, and made a meaningful product that lives in their neighborhood. Students learned in nature, became citizen scientists, and reflected on their personal relationships with nature. They worked in groups to design plant books (“Planthologies”) and then created books individually. The books were made with plantable seed paper and were donated to each student’s neighborhood Little Library so that our communities could learn from them.

Teacher Reflections

Some of the best parts of this project came from the excursions and getting to be outside to learn. Not only were the field trips and field work rich and engaging for students, they provided opportunities for culture building that were different from those we experienced in the classroom. It was wonderful to see new students become curious about their world and share new ideas with me and their classmates. The handmade qualities of the books are charming and detailed; when you pick up the book and look through it, you can tell students have dedicated a lot of hard work. Another part of the project that was special was the highlighting of each student’s unique neighborhood where the book would live. There are also many parts of the project I would like to explore deeper.

­—Katelyn Livingstone

What I learned from this project is that students really want to design for something greater than themselves. There were a lot of a-ha moments that grew students’ empathy and understanding of the greater world around them when we went on field trips to study native plants. I think it was in those moments that students saw they could be of service to others. In the next iteration of this project it would be helpful to develop a relationship with an outside organization that would be recurring. Something where students can see the change they are affecting with a community partner.

—Shane Duenow

Student Reflection

In this project, we mostly had to communicate with each other. This skill is not something I am good with, if it is talking to my team or the teacher. I think I got better this year communicating because of this project. During the project, we had to work with another person and split the work equally so it helped me constantly pradtice communicating with others.

—Ashley H.