Blandford Nature Center works closely with the Grand Rapids Public Schools to develop a curriculum that meets grade-level science and social studies requirements.
In addition to assisting in immersive programs at Blandford School and C.A. Frost Elementary, we serve as the environmental classroom for third, sixth and ninth graders throughout the district thanks to the financial support of the Student Advancement Foundation.
This program focuses on the pre-contact ways of living of Michigan’s Anishinabek, or People of the Three Fires, most specifically the Ottawa of West Michigan. Students study Anishinabe skills like fishing and rope-making, learn the secrets of making maple sugar and listen to stories inside an authentic wigwam. Games such as bowl dice and snowsnakes, hands-on activities like planting corn, using a scapula hoe, and touching real deer, fox and beaver pelts usually send students home with big smiles on their faces.
Sixth graders who come to Blandford in the spring are in for a specialtreat. In the morning, students participate in a thrilling game that challenges even the wiliest of predators. In the afternoon, studentsexplore the natural world around Blandford. From the meadow, vernalponds and mixed forests to the creek and cattail marshes, theydiscover the plethora of wild things living there and their uniqueroles in each ecosystem – including humans themselves.
Ninth graders spend a day at Blandford studying humanity’s impact onthe earth and how we can make our lifestyles simpler, healthier, andmore sensitive to the natural world. Students visit the nineteenth-century log cabin and explore the intricacies of pioneer life. They brainstorm in small groups on issues such as clean water, finding viable forms of renewable energy, the systematic elimination of wildlife habitats, and responsible land-use management.