Chris Rowlands works with students
on one of a kind mural.

Once again the students at New Bremen Elementary School created something fantastic while learning about nature first hand. Through a partnership between the New Bremen Foundation and Crown Equipment Corporation, the school received a grant to invite Tom Hissong and Chris Rowlands from the Aullwood-Audubon Center to do a program
with the K-6 students. Last year, Tom and Chris put on a program with the elementary school, including an interactive presentation, individual class field trips to the Kuenning-Dicke Natural Area, and a residential-artist program with Chris, where he worked with each class to create a mural of the KDNA. The students learned about the different plant and animal species native to Ohio, Midwest habitats, and fine art.

This year Tom and Chris returned to the school to do another program focused on “the Sounds of Nature.” After the school-wide presentation, Tom and Chris visited individual classrooms for an in-depth look at plants, animals, and the sounds of nature. After their field trip to the KDNA, Chris began working with the students, writing songs about their experience. Each class wrote the lyrics to a song that they would later record and perform. The songs differed in style and subject, ranging from a lullaby about spiders, to a blue-grass song about grasshoppers, to a blues song about a black rat snake. Other topics the students covered were the food chain, the benefits of poisonous plants, and an overall account of their trip to the KDNA. The students performed their songs in front of their peers and a small group of parents who were able to attend. Chris also took the time to not only record the students but added his own instrumentation to each song, creating a professional level album. As a part of the grant, the students received a CD with all of the songs Chris recorded while at New Bremen Elementary School.

Posted by nbf on Thursday, May 8th, 2014 @ 7:39PM
Categories: Aullwood Audubon, Education, Environment, Kuenning Dicke Natural Area, New Bremen Elementary, Special Needs
Tags: Aullwood Audubon, Education, Elementary, Environment, Nature, New Bremen, Special Needs