Environmental Education
The disconnection between humans and nature has produced a host of global environmental issues, including many of the problems that impact urban neighborhoods. LandHealth restores connections by providing engaging, interdisciplinary education about the land.
Educational Programs
ProFESS: After School
ProFESS: After School is an 8 week, after-school environmental education program designed to provide students with the opportunity to develop their own relationship with nature and explore their roles as Future Environmental Scientists and Stewards. With a focus on playful learning, ProFESS strives to spark curiosity, evoke discovery, inspire connections, and instill wonder in students as they learn about the natural world just outside their classroom doors. Tailored to the needs of your students, ProFESSers gain confidence outside as they foster their creativity, imagination, and problem-solving skills.
*We are currently working on this program, and hope to have it running for this school year!
City WILD
City Wild is a summer camp for curious kids ages 10-13 that offers two-week session of off-the-beaten-path adventures and behind-the-scenes excursions through Philly’s neighborhoods to explore nature in the urban environment.
***LandHealth is currently not offering this program
The Program for Future Environmental Scientists and Stewards (ProFESS) is a 10-week, paid summer opportunity designed to provide students with interdisciplinary, immersive, hands-on exposure to the natural and built environment. ProFESS enables youth to develop their own relationship with nature–one that is rooted in self-confidence, mutual respect, and discovery. Traveling between Philly's major waterways and natural spaces, ProFESSers learn about the importance of the environment and the roles they play in it as they explore concepts of ecology, watersheds, sustainable practices, and environmental justice.
DEEP
Using the river and land between the Ben Franklin Bridge and Pier 70 as the classroom, this program is designed to enhance appreciation of natural systems, the built environment, and the complex interactions between the two. In applying these skills, participants are exposed to the basics of ecology, urban planning, landscape design, river properties, geology, history, hydrology, and soil.
***LandHealth is currently not offering this program!
Shareable Resources
The Real Bumble Game
This activity should take about 30 minutes. It features species native to Philadelphia, many of them plants. By learning about the specialized relationships between our native plants and the larger ecosystem we can gain a deeper appreciation of the fact that supporting native plants and habitats supports the whole ecological pyramid, from the humblest insect to the mighty apex predator.
The natural world is full of incredible relationships - a caterpillar that only eats one kind of leaf, or a wasp that only builds a gall on one kind of oak. Before you begin this game, have a conversation with your students about ecological relationships.
