Claire Griffin & Weston Whitmire: Muddy Sneakers, The Joy of Learning Outside
Weston Whitmire and Claire Griffin speak about the benefits of hands-on learning. They use their experience with ‘Muddy Sneakers’, an outdoor learning curriculum that leverages the grandeur of nature to teach science to school age youth, to advocate for greater use of applied, immersion learning.
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ABOUT Weston Whitmire
“Weston Whitmire has lived on a farm in the shadows of the Pisgah National Forest since he was three. With a family heritage of 10 generations that have lived off the land, he is naturally respectful and fascinated with the great outdoors.
Currently, he is working with the Southern Highlands Reserve to create a ‘Kids Park’ that will serve as an outdoor classroom for students for immersion learning about the Southern Appalachian ecosystem, environmental stewardship, and the region’s history. Weston says that nature offers the perfect setting to inspire one’s imagination and learn ‘how things work’ via the power of discovery.”
ABOUT Claire Griffin
“Claire Griffin thought that Science was boring! But at Muddy Sneakers she enjoyed learning Science using her five senses. Everything that they saw, felt, tasted or smelt became a lesson in subjects related to physics, landforms, water cycles, plants and animals or ecosystems. Muddy Sneakers has taught her to problem solve.
She tells of a fun memory involving one of her teachers, a $20 bill and Muddy Sneakers. The punchline is a testimony to how successful the team at Muddy Sneakers have been to engage students and make learning both fun and meaningful.
Claire says that she likes Muddy Sneakers because, “when you are in the classroom, you don’t have much space for your thoughts because you are in a confined space, but when you are outdoors, you have so much room.”
The VIDEO
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