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IL Principles and Curriculum Materials Informing the Design <br /> of the Discovery Garden <br /> <br />Environmenta~ Learning Area (El_A) at Ramsey Elementary School <br /> <br />Nearby Ramsey Elementary School has an ELA that includes an oak savanna, hardwood forest, and <br />extensive wetland, as well as a mature restored prairie. When an addition to the school was recently <br />constructed, a pond to treat run off water from the roof and paved parking area was built to filter and <br />treat the water using ecological principles. <br /> <br />The following core values are also integrated into the study of the ELA beginning in 2~ grade: <br /> <br />· Respect; care of the landscape <br /> <br />· Compassion/Empathy; sharing <br /> <br />· Responsibility; recycling <br /> <br />· Integrity; impact, of decisions <br /> <br />· Appreciation of Diversity; interdependence <br /> <br />The curriculum guide written for the ELA emphasizes the identification of plants and animals through <br />direct experience with nature and the landscape. The following focus organisms are studied in Grades <br />K-5 and will be incorporated in the imagery and content of the design for the Discovery Garden. They <br />are the organisms most likely to be present in the wetland and/or the oak savanna/prairie habitats in the <br />parle <br /> <br />Birds: Mallards; Egrets; Red-winged Black Bird; Blue Jay; Woodpecker, Cardinal; Red-tailed Hawk; <br />Bluebird; and .Ring-tailed Pheasant <br /> <br />Mammals: Cottontail Rabbit; Chipmunk; White-tailed Deer, Gray Squirrel; Pocket Gopher;, and Red <br />Fox <br /> <br />Trees: Aspen; Red Cedar, Bur Oak; White Oak; Red Oak and White Pine <br /> <br />Forbs: Duckweed; Goldenrod; Milkweed; Cattails; Mosses and Lichens <br /> <br />Insects: Butterflies; Ants; Dragonflies and Wasps <br /> <br />Amphibians: American Toad; Turtles; Bull 'Snake and Garter ~nake <br /> <br />Children are encouraged to learn about these organisms by using their senses including smell, sound, <br />touch and sight, to perceive color. For example, they compare the shape of a leaf to the vei.n~ of their <br />hands and listen to the sound of the wind in a grove of quaking aspen. Other activities include.producing <br />soft pencil rubbings of a tree's bark patterns, examine the.buds, and create contour drawings of a tree's <br />shape in order to distinguish different species. In winter, they search out animal tracks in the snoW. <br /> <br />Discovery Garden Concept Phase, Regina Fl. Flanagan, Ar~ · Landscape · Design, April 30, 2003 2 <br /> <br /> <br />