For 1st-Graders, the Future Is Wide Open

As our Bay Area SCORES after-school program suggests, Futures Elementary School prides itself on offering students the widest-ranging education possible, all day and every day: from our regular academic classes to our eclectic after-school program. Another essential piece of this horizon-expanding vision is field trips, particularly in the great outdoors.

In what staff hopes will become an annual tradition, Futures 1st-graders and their families visited San Francisco’s new Crissy Field Center twice this year. Not only were the trips a chance to travel outside Oakland, they also helped kids and parents reflect on the environment and our role in protecting it.

The Center’s program weaves eco-friendly themes throughout its nature hike and other outdoor activities. Kids made a nature book out of recycled materials, and there was a tutorial on sorting recycling and compost. Along the way, 1st-grade teacher Anna Blake heard parents telling their kids, “We need to start recycling more!”

The experiences were also great bonding opportunities for students and their parents. “The trip allowed my daughter and I to spend time together,” reflects Luana Talton, 1st-grader Iyana’s mother. “It was a great learning experience for both of us. I also brought my sons on the trip and we got to enjoy all of the activities as a family.”
1st-graders Aimee, Bernice, Yenny, Jalil, and Nzinga all came back with plenty of memories. “I ate some marshmallows on a stick at our campfire, and we set up a tent,” says Aimee.

“We reported smoking vehicles,” says Jalil, “which is important because that’s bad for the environment. I’m excited to go back so I can see more animals and learn more about nature.”

Not to be underestimated: how the natural world opens up for students on these trips. “Even crossing the Bay Bridge is a huge thing for some kids,” says Blake. “On the bus ride over, I was trying to talk to Jalil, and he said, ‘Sorry, Ms. Blake, but I’m looking at the ocean.’”

Blake hopes the kids will also go back to Rob Hill and Crissy Field with their parents. “A lot of families said they would try to get back there,” notes Blake. The recently opened Rob Hill has the distinction of being San Francisco’s only public campground, and it offers a discounted program for new campers, which includes bus transportation, equipment, and cookware.

In the coming years, Blake hopes Futures can take advantage of this program, with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades doing an overnight at Rob Hill.

“If we don’t educate kids about recycling, conservation, and outdoor activities, it’s a missed opportunity,” says Blake. “I know it’s something we can connect to curriculum and establish as a school and educate our students that way. We want to create more of a connection between our students and the outdoors, and this national park is an amazing resource, a powerful educational place where they can learn in a hands-on way.”

“[At Crissy Field] we learned about composting and recycling,” recalls 1st-grader Nzinga. “It’s important because if you know where to put the trash, recycling, and composting, we can have a cleaner environment. I want to learn to save people’s lives.”

The Crissy Field Center is a partnership between the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the Presidio Trust, and the National Park Service. To learn more, visit www.crissyfield.org.