Embracing the Cold & Bringing Outdoor Ed into the Classroom

On December 17, 2019, 14 fifth graders from Mrs. Chapman’s class at Flagstaff Junior Academy Middle School braved a particularly chilly morning in pursuit of adventure, discovery, and expression. Our goals were to identify why we felt connections with certain special places, to deepen our sense of place in Flagstaff’s local environment, and to create meaningful collages using natural materials. […]

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Fire Ecology with FJA

Authored by Kim Cleary On September 19, 15 students from Mrs. Chapman’s fifth grade class at Flagstaff Junior Academy ventured into the Coconino National Forest along the Arizona Trail to observe and learn about the fire-dependent ponderosa pine ecosystem they live in. Being their first outing with Seeds of Stewardship, students were introduced to our program as well as the […]

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Kino School discovers Cienega Creek

On December 4th, 2019, 12 students from Kino School explored the incredible Cienega Creek Natural Preserve. This expedition would walk students through a variety of biomes, displaying desert watershed at its finest. The paths winds though time petrified in stone and rock, while observing key pathways and habitats of Southern Arizona’s rarest and most wonderful animals. These students had been […]

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Empire High School encounters the incredible

On October 11th, 2019, 10 students from Empire High School left for a wild adventure into the Santa Catalina Mountains. Hiking Sunset trail, we hoped to beat the heat by hiking Sunset Trail through mixed coniferous forests. We wanted to observe how altitude effects desert mountains, discussing Sky Islands and their greater ecological effect on the Sonoran Desert. To understand […]

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Navigating with FALA

Co-authored by Kim Cleary On October 8, 2019, Seeds of Stewardship, equipped with a pile of topo maps and a box of compasses, met 18 sixth and seventh grade students enrolled in Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy’s Outdoor Exploration class. Over the course of a class period, we introduced students to the Arizona Trail, Seeds of Stewardship, and foundational map […]

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Middle Schoolers in Nature, for Nature

On October 3, 2019, 132 students from Mount Elden Middle School’s 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classes visited Campbell Mesa to learn about human relationships with nature and our impacts on the environment. Campbell Mesa features 5 loop trails, which connect to the Arizona Trail’s Walnut Canyon and Elden Mountain Passages. Students rotated between four activities, wherein they explored resource […]

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Trail work with Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center

On March 30th, 2019, 7 students from the Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center left for a mission to repair the Arizona Trail. Stewardship is a key characteristic of the program. Students spend the first four expeditions gaining experience and developing a deeper relationship toward trails and the landscapes which they move through. For the final expedition, we intended to train students […]

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