Capitol View Elementary School in Des Moines is developing a program that promotes nature and wildness. Capitol View is a school of 700 children from diverse backgrounds. Roger Gipple has in-serviced the entire teaching staff on the importance of wildness in our lives. The teachers were anxious to include this theme in their instruction.
Inspired by this discussion, the staff decided to make nature and wildness a theme during the whole year. Many of the classrooms have already invited guest speakers from organizations like the Neal Smith Prairie Learning Center, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and others to speak with the children about various conservation topics. Many teachers have been sharing literature that Heartland AEA11 has pulled from their library. The Iowa Department of Transportation has supplied each classroom with posters of Iowa wild flowers and wild animals as a resource for further learning. Iowa State Bank donated funds for the purchase of a tree as part of the Trees for Kids Program. This tree was planted on school grounds for future generations to enjoy.
The Agrestal Fund is sponsoring the year's signature event by bringing in Daniel Dancer, an aerial artist, to spend a week with Capitol View Elementary students and staff. Daniel will facilitate several small-group activities around the wildness theme. As a culminating activity, he will take an aerial photograph of approximately 800 students, teachers, administrators and Agrestal volunteers. The participants will be wearing specially colored Wild Iowa Discovery shirts provided by the Agrestal Fund and arranged in the East High athletic field in the formation of a large cougar. (As you've probably heard in the news, cougars have been returning to Iowa, so the cougar shape was purposely chosen as a representation of wildness in our lives.) The students will attend an assembly Friday morning to watch Daniel's video presentation of the event.
For more information about Daniel Dancer and his work, visit his site.
Back to 2006 Agrestal Events.