Page 4 The Earth Scientist

© 2021 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

NESTA Coordinators

Conference Logistics 

Coordinator

Howard Dimmick

Merchandise Coordinator

Howard Dimmick

Procedures Manual 

Coordinator

Parker Pennington IV

Rock Raffle Coordinators

Parker Pennington IV

Membership Coordinator

Joe Monaco

E-News Editor

Dr. Rick Jones

It’s

Elementary!

Jacob Tanenbaum, Janet Fenton, Carol Knudson, Nicole Laible, 

Brianna Rosamilia, Margie Turrin and Laurel Zaima

Abstract

In his book “Last Child Left in the Woods,” Richard Louv coined the term “Nature Deficit 

Disorder,” which he thinks of as “... not a formal diagnosis, but a way to describe the 

psychological, physical and cognitive costs of human alienation from nature, particularly 

for children in their vulnerable developing years.”(Louv, 2008) In the years that followed 

the publication of Louv’s first book, schools began to think more deeply about how to give 

children authentic outdoor learning experiences. In 2010, our 3rd through 5th grade school, 

Cottage Lane Elementary in Blauvelt, New York, began an outdoor education event where 

we take our entire school to a local state park for a day. Once there, each class rotates 

from learning center to learning center to work with scientists, outdoor educators, local 

environmental groups and other volunteers to learn more about and experience the environment around them. What follows is a brief summary of what we have learned in the 10 

years that we have been doing this work. We hope that it may serve as a model which other 

schools could replicate in their own way. Please visit this site http://jacobtanenbaum.com/

outdoored.html for learning center activities that can be replicated if you want to try your 

hand at implementing a day of your own.

Where We Go

Tallman Mountain State Park in Sparkill, New York offers much that one should look for when 

selecting a location for an outdoor education event. To put it simply, there is a lot to talk about, 

do and study. A variety of habitats are present in the park. It is located along the western shore of 

the Hudson River estuary near the widest section of the River. Deciduous forest makes up much 

of the 700-acre park. The forest includes several freshwater ponds and streams that flow into the 

Hudson just below the park. The Piermont Marsh is a 1017-acre wetland that forms the eastern 

park boundary. (www.dec.ny.gov/lands/92365.html) It is one of the five remaining brackish tidal 

marshes in the Hudson River estuary (New York, 2018). The Piermont Marsh is part of the Hudson 

River National Estuarine Research Reserve and so it has been well studied over the years. The park 

provides a home to a variety of animals, birds and plants as well as aquatic life. Bald eagle and 

Earth Day at

Cottage Lane

A Local, Affordable, Outdoor-EducationDay Model for Your School or Setting
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© 2021 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

Volume XXXVII, Issue 1

The Earth Scientist

EDITOR

 Peg Steffen

PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE

Peg Steffen

Carla McAuliffe

Howard Dimmick

Tom Ervin

Billy Goodman

Dr. Rick Jones, E-News Editor

CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS

Spencer Cody

Janet Fenton

Derek Hagen

Holly Hereau

Carol Knudson

Nicole Laible

Letitia Manning

Liz Martinez

Shannon Othus-Gault

Brianna Rosamilia

Matt Strand, Ph.D.

Beth Szijarto

Jacob Tanenbaum

Margie Turrin 

Laurel Zaima

The Earth Scientist is the journal of 

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©2020 by the National Earth Science 

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Science Teachers Association (NESTA) 

makes no warranties, either expressed or 

implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability of the 

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In addition, the views expressed in The 

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policy.

DESIGN/LAYOUT

Patty Schuster, Page Designs

osprey are frequently seen in the area. We make use of the several miles of roads and 

hiking trails as well as restrooms and picnic areas in the park. The roads and trails 

roughly parallel one another allowing us to have some flexibility when we have individuals in our community with mobility issues.

The park also has some interesting geology. It is located along the Palisades cliffs. 

These basalt cliffs formed in the late Triassic when an intrusion of magma into an 

earlier layer of sandstone solidified below the ground, forming a sill. Erosion of the 

softer layers around the cliffs caused them to be exposed and they are a defining part 

of the Hudson river landscape in this region. (https://njpalisades.org/nature.html) 

Ice sheets scraped along the exposed rock during the ice ages, leaving striation marks 

which can still be seen today in some places.

When searching for a location to work outdoors with children, having access to a park 

which offers so much gives us the flexibility to have a wider range of learning centers 

placed strategically around the area so that children can directly interact with the 

subject that is being taught.

Finally, the park is just a 10-minute drive from our school. Less time on the bus means 

the students spend more time in the park. It also means the buses can make two trips 

each, cutting the largest expense of the day in half. 

Volunteers and Centers

Examples of learning centers include: Forest Ecology, Mud Core Sampling, Bee 

Keeping, Plankton, Salt Marsh Ecology, Geology, Art in Nature, Hiking, Recycling, 

Macro-invertebrates, Local Turtle Protection, American Eels, Native plants vs. Invasive 

plants, Composting, 

Plankton Study, 

Meditation in Nature, 

Yoga in Nature, 

Geocaching and 

many more. 

Outside volunteers 

or school staff with 

unique expertise run 

all of the learning 

centers. Volunteers 

have included different 

local environmental 

groups, local scientists, 

environmental educators, our local water and electric companies and several community members; for example, a local bee-keeper created a center for us. Over the ten years 

we have been running this program, the group of volunteers has increased dramatically. 

Many come through my work with NOAA’s Planet Stewards program, NOAA’s Teacher 

on the Estuary program as well as through networks of outdoor educators around the 

community. We are fortunate to have many universities and scientific institutions in 

our area. Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, a research arm of Columbia University is 

just minutes from the park, and the participation of many of their scientists and staff 

has been invaluable. Local environmental groups, such as Keep Rockland Beautiful 

Figure 1. The Piermont Marsh with Tallman Mountain in the Background

Photo credit: Jacob Tanenbaum
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© 2021 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

have also donated time as has the Rockland County Soil and Water 

Conservation District. 

Each year we work closely with new center providers to create an 

activity that is age appropriate, hands on and that will fit in to the time 

constraints. This is critical, since many of our volunteers are not accustomed to working with third through fifth graders. Once developed, 

activities can be refined and repeated from year to year. Those new to 

outdoor education may need help with some of its unique features. One of 

the most important aspects of working with a group of volunteers is giving 

lots of advanced notice. We typically begin reaching out to volunteers in 

January for an event that takes place in June.

Examples of centers that you can use are found at http://jacobtanenbaum.

com/outdoored.html and include: 

n	 Composting by Janet Fenton

n	 Eel Game by Brianna Rosamilia and Nicole Laible

n	 Piermont Marsh by Margie Turrin and Laurel Zaima

n	 Plankton Nets by Carol Knudson

Logistics

An important part of keeping a program like this going is having wellthought-out simple logistics. Each classroom teacher and each center 

provider are given a map of the park with the centers clearly indicated. The 

map includes roads and trails as well as the location of picnic areas for 

lunch, water and restrooms. One of the critical parts of creating the map is 

paying attention to the amount of time it takes students and staff to walk 

between centers. We kept travel times to 10 minutes by clustering grades 

around the park. Centers are geared for one grade only. This way they can 

be repeated from year to year with no chance that students visited the 

center in previous years. 

The day is divided into five 35-minute periods. We allow 20 minutes for 

center activities, 5 minutes for questions and 10 minutes for transition. 

Each group of students visits four centers and eats lunch during one of the 

five 35-minute periods. (See schedule below)

Addressing Teacher Concerns

For most teachers, their responsibilities for the day consist of guiding 

the students from center to center. Some teachers create learning centers 

Figure 2. Earth Day 2019 – Creating Plankton Nets

Photo credit: Courtesy of South Orangetown Central School District

Grade 3 Schedule 9:20 10:00 10:35 11:10 11:45 12:20 12:55

Class 1 BUS Art and Poetry Walking Center Lunch Garden Center Grade 3 Marsh Center Return to Bus - Depart 1:10

Class 2 BUS Garden Center Grade 3 Marsh Center Lunch Mindfullness Forest Center Return to Bus - Depart 1:10

Class 3 BUS Cornell Garden Center Lunch Forest Center Mindfulness Return to Bus - Depart 1:10

Class 4 BUS Mindfullness Art and Poetry Garden Center Grade 3 Marsh Lunch Return to Bus - Depart 1:10

Class 5 BUS Grade 3 Marsh Forest Center Art and Poetry Cornell Lunch Return to Bus - Depart 1:10

Class 6 BUS Mindfulness Forest Center Art and Poetry Lunch Cornell

Class 7 BUS Cornell Mindfullness Lunch Garden Center Forest Center

Class 8 BUS Walking Center Cornell Lunch Art and Poetry Garden Center

Class 9 BUS Walking Center Grade 3 Marsh Center Lunch Cornell Mindfulness

Marsh and Art/Poetry

Grade 4 Schedule

Class 9:20 AM 10:00 AM 10:35 AM 11:10 AM 11:45 AM 12:20 PM 12:55 PM

Class 1 Bus Hudson River Riddles Capture the Recyclables Lunch Bee Center Suez/O & R Return to Bus - Depart 1:10

Class 2 Bus Sugar in our World Walking Center Lunch Geology Bee Center Return to Bus - Depart 1:10

Class 3 Bus Plankton In the River Geology Lunch Suez/O & R Sugar in our World Return to Bus - Depart 1:10

Class 4 Bus Forest Center (GRADE 3) Sugar in our World Suez/O & R Lunch Capture the Recyclables Return to Bus - Depart 1:10

Class 5 Bus Suez/O & R Hudson River Riddles Bee Center Lunch Plankton in the River Return to Bus Depart 1:10
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© 2021 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

Volume XXXVII, Issue 1

and staff them for the day. Although we initially had to address many concerns, this event is now a 

favorite tradition for many teachers. 

Teaching in the outdoors is often more reactive than proactive. This is hard for teachers trained in 

traditional techniques who like a more predictable set of circumstances. We try to show staff how 

to take joy in what is unpredictable. Many traditionally trained teachers are uncomfortable with 

questions they do not know the answer to. Naturalists and outdoor educators are accustomed to 

using guide books and apps because they often see things they can’t identify right away. We try to 

model taking joy in not knowing as well as the process of using dichotomous keys and other tools 

to identify something we have not seen before.

Teachers may struggle with a lack of experience on trails. The first 

year we did this, we got together with a group of staff members on 

a Saturday before the event and we hiked around the park to help 

alleviate some of their concerns. 

Students or staff may have mobility or medical issues that impact 

their experience and comfort levels. Having the choice to walk 

on roads as well as trails alleviates some concerns since the roads 

may be easier to manage than a rough trail. Staff may have fears 

about animals, ticks, weather or poison ivy. Each year we send 

out a guide to help staff recognize poison ivy in its many forms 

and remind students and staff how to dress appropriately for the 

forest to minimize issues from weather, ticks and insects. Concerns 

regarding those issues have faded over time. 

Hands on nature-based activities can often be tailored to address specific Next Generation Science 

Standards (NGSS) Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) applicable to a particular grade. For example, the 

unique geology of our area is well suited for teaching the DCI’s in the fourth grade related to earth 

systems, which talk about patterns in rock formations that help us recognize changes over time. 

Days like this are also an opportunity to go into some depth on NGSS Crosscutting Concepts 

related to patterns, scale, proportion, and quantity, structure and function as well as stability and 

change. All of those important goals are naturally addressed in a high-interest setting that cannot 

be duplicated in the classroom. The same is true of NGSS Scientific Practices such as asking questions, defining problems, analyzing and interpreting data, constructing explanations, engaging in 

argument from evidence and obtaining, evaluating and communicating information. 

That said, it is important to note that we are committed to doing hands-on nature-based activities 

even if they do not connect directly to the standards, simply because they are worth doing.

Costs to the District

Keeping costs down is essential in public education. For this activity, all centers are staffed by 

volunteers. There are some minor material costs. The district also pays for an extra nurse to be on 

duty in the park for the day. We ask the local ambulance corps to keep their rigs in the park when 

they are not in use. They kindly do this at no cost to us. The major expense is busing the children. 

We minimize this by busing half the school to the park and then having the buses return for the 

second group of classes. This cuts the cost in half. All in all, this is one of the least expensive field 

trip activities that we run during the year. 

Figure 3. Learning along the 

Hudson River

Photo credit: Jacob Tanenbaum
Page 8 The Earth Scientist

© 2021 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

A Note on 2020

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we created a virtual Earth Day event in June of 2020. We did this 

by scheduling a volunteer to meet with each class via video-conference for 20 minutes with time at 

the end for questions. There are some outdoor educational activities that lend themselves well to 

video conferencing. For example, we had a local bee-keeper connect using a cell phone and show 

the children the bee-hives close at hand. In general, though, we are all happy to return to hands-on 

outdoor education for 2021, though it will be in our schoolyard, since we cannot travel by bus to 

the park. Nature-based hands-on activities cannot be duplicated on a screen.

Conclusions

Outdoor education does not need to be expensive and often does not require long-distance travel. For 

10 years running we have managed to bring 650 children to the outdoors for a day of learning from 

experts – though we were forced to do this virtually in 2020 due to the pandemic. For many students, 

it is their first time in Tallman Mountain Park even though it is just a few minutes from their homes. 

In the last few years, we have introduced more diverse and eclectic activities, such as yoga, meditation, 

poetry and art. Those have gone well and will be continued and expanded in the years to come. Future 

plans include adding a center devoted to the music of the natural world around them. After all, how 

can we teach about the Hudson River without singing a little Pete Seeger? 

References

Louv, Richard (2008). Last Child in the Woods. Algonquin Books, Old Chapel Hill.

New York - New Jersey Trail Conference (2018). “Tallman Mountain State Park”, www.nynjtc.org/park/

tallman-mountain-state-park

About the Authors

Jacob Tanenbaum teaches science and computer technology in the South Orangetown schools 

located in Rockland County, just north of New York City. Mr. Tanenbaum has been an educator for ove

30 years. In addition to schools in the New York area, Mr. Tanenbaum has taught in Tucson, Arizona

Buffalo, New York; Alabama; Georgia, Guatemala City; Guayaquil, Ecuador and Bogotá, Colombia. More

information, as well as a list of his awards, grants, talks and publications appears on his website, 

www.jacobtanenbaum.c

Janet Fenton is a Master Gardener Volunteer through Cornell Cooperative Extension: Rockland, New 

York since 2010. She has conducted several presentations on gardening, especially composting and

vermicomposting to children and adults. Additionally, she oversees the management of the Garden

of Faith at Marydell Faith and Life Center which has produced thousands of pounds of fresh produce 

which is distributed through the St. Ann’s Food Cupboard. She also serves as a volunteer garde

educator at the Children’s Garden at Marydell during the summer. She retired in 2014 after teaching

for over 27 years

Carol Knudson is a Research Assistant at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia

University. Since 2008 she has been working on the Hudson River Water Quality Project with
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© 2021 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

Volume XXXVII, Issue 1

Riverkeeper. She is an alumna of Tappan Zee High School (class of 1981) and through her children,

has been involved in South Orangetown Central School District activities since 2005

Nicole V. Laible currently works as the Environmental Programs Manager for the Rockland County 

Division of Environmental Resources in New York. As Environmental Programs Manager, she leads

four environmental boards and manages several professional water resources research projects

She also works with colleagues to host Conservation Field Day’s and other environmental education 

programming for K-adult audiences. Nicole is on the leadership team for the Minisceongo Cree

Watershed Alliance and Rockland Environmental Educators Working Group. She received the

“Environmental Educator” award from Keep Rockland Beautiful in 2017 and the “Next Generation 

Leadership Award” from Strawtown Studio in 2018. She also serves as a board member on the

Hudson River Watershed Alliance, working on the Finance and Governance committees. Nicole has a

Master’s in Public Administration and Policy from American University and a B.Sc. from SUNY Ston

Brook University where she double majored in Marine Sciences and Coastal Environmental Studies

Brianna Rosamilia is the Conservation District Technician at the Rockland County Soil and Water 

Conservation District in New York. In her current role she leads education programs focused on water

quality and trains volunteers to collect scientific data for community science programs. She earned

a bachelor’s of science in environmental science from Marist College and a master’s of science in 

environmental interpretation from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She

started working in the environmental education field as a seasonal environmental educator with 

the Student Conservation Association. Since then, she has educated thousands of youth and adults

in nonformal education settings on topics relating the Hudson River Estuary, its tributaries, and the 

Hudson Valley. In her free time, she likes to paint, look for birds, and take long walk

Margie Turrin is Director of Educational Field Programs at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of

Columbia University where she has researched, developed, implemented and published on field-based

educational work for students, teachers and faculty for over 20 years. She has been part of bringing

thousands of students and educators to the Hudson to collect and analyze their own data, using the 

estuary as a classroom. She is an advocate of using data to pose and answer questions, focusing on

incorporating authentic data into stories and activities that provide key insights about the environment

Her work spans from local to global with projects in both the Arctic and Antarctic that focus on climate 

change and sea level impacts

Laurel Zaima is the Education and Outreach Coordinator at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

of Columbia University. Laurel has substantial experience working with youth, teaching students

through informal education about the natural environment through hands-on experiences since 201

At Lamont, she works on education initiatives that communicate science research to the general 

public, K-12 and undergraduate school groups, and New York and New Jersey teachers. Her primar

educational focus is on connecting people to the Hudson River and their local waterways by using a 

place-based instructional approach with an emphasis on field explorations. She also teaches abou

sustainability, climate change, and sea level rise with a strong emphasis on the changes occurring in 

the polar regions