The Hawai‘i Nature Study program, originally conceived and developed by Sister Edna Demanche in the 1970s, was always popular with Hawai‘i teachers because, unlike most science textbooks available to them, it provided inquiry-based activities focused on Hawai‘i’s local plants and animals.
CRDG’s Carol Brennan was a member of the original team that worked with Sister Edna, and she is updating the program for a new generation of teachers and students. “While much has changed, the activities continue to be engaging for students,” Brennan says. The popular environmental education program includes classroom and outdoor, hands-on, problem solving activities and investigations focused on Hawai‘i’s natural environment and on the plants and animals students encounter on their school campuses, in their neighborhoods, or in nearby coastal areas.
The goal is to provide useful resources, so the new edition will be a book of ideas that teachers can adapt as needed to fit their grade level and location. Because CRDG is committed to providing more teaching resources online or in other electronic formats, the new and updated Hawai‘i Nature Study will be delivered online.