Compass Learning Opens Bald Hill to the Community

Compass School middle school students continue their “learning for the real world” as they work on the Bald Hill Conservation Area as a central part of their Fall Science and Humanities curriculum. Partnering with the Bald Hill Conservation Committee of the Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association, Compass is addressing a need for mapping the trail system and developing a nature trail guide that will benefit the local community.

This project follows the format of community based learning for Compass middle schoolers that has included nature trail signage for the Pinnacle Association, developing a trail system behind the Nature Museum in Grafton, and creating a theater presentation on the history of agriculture in Windham County. In each of these projects, students engaged in a field based study that helped them develop a sense of place, address essential content in a hands-on manner, and work together with new classmates.

“This place based learning really gets at our curricular goals,” explains Science teacher Louise Hodsen. “In Science, we are teaching forest ecology, using local author Tom Wessel’s book Reading the Forested Landscape, using technology with GPS devices and google maps, and developing observational skills through analysis of the history of the forest.”

By integrating this unit with Humanities, the middle school students are able to spend almost 3 hours at a time out in the woods, with plenty of time to get in depth in their field studies. Students work together in teams, getting to know their peers and learning how to be stronger collaborators as they investigate their own team’s trail in the Bald Hill or connecting BFUHS trails.

For Humanities class, students are studying nature writing, using these outdoor experiences as inspiration for their own writing and as a way of better appreciating the writing of more famous chroniclers of the natural world.

“This is a great chance for our kids to contribute to the local community,” observes Middle School Humanities teacher Lauren Beigel. “Having a real purpose for their work, the kids take this seriously and do really high quality work.”

Bald Hill Conservation Committee Chairperson Elizabeth Harlow gushes about the value of this project, “We needed these trails mapped to be of real use to the community. We are thrilled to have students involved in caring for this conserved land. Their work is a terrific asset to welcome and guide visitors to Bald Hill.”

“We have always feel students learn best when they see the value of their learning for the real world,” says Compass Founding Director Rick Gordon. “This is just one example of connecting Compass learning to the world beyond the classroom walls. Along with Community Service Winter Term, school and class wide travel experiences, and Junior and Senior Projects, Compass students see the many ways their learning relates to their lives outside of school.”

Maps of the Bald Hill trails will be available in a brochure form at trailheads as well as in PDF form on the Windmill Hill Pinnacle Association’s website, www.whpa.org.  The Compass students will also be creating trail signs and large format maps to post at the Bald Hill site. The community is encouraged to go out and enjoy this great local resource.