The Dayton Sprouts Program is a collaborative effort between UD students and the City of Dayton. Dayton Sprouts aims to teach children in the Dayton area the value of a sustainable environment and all the ways we, as individuals, can help the environment thrive. As the children are aged 3-12, each activity within the program is tailored to each age group.
With “Healthy Bodies” as the first week’s theme, we focused on the importance of healthy eating, body movement, and sustainable farming practices. One activity we did involved creating dice; each side was decorated by a child and had directions for an exercise for us to do. Everyone would get a chance to roll, and once it landed on the side, we would do the exercise. The kids’ favorite activity of the week was gardening, where each child picked a plant or seed and planted it in our community garden. We planted sunflowers, tomatoes, carrots, kale, tomatillos, basil, squash, and zucchini.
During the second week, we learned about things that live in the soil and how mycorrhizal fungi have a mutually beneficial relationship with plants. First, we made soil layer jars, which included dirt from the yard and water. The kids would shake up their jars and let them rest to form soil layers, from large and dense to small and silty. To learn about the creatures that care for the soil, we went on a decomposer (detritivore) hunt. We searched around to find blooming fungus, and under decaying leaves and logs to find the cutest of pill bugs.
For decomposers, like fungi and bacteria, we discussed the enzymes they use to break down organic matter. While searching for detritivores, including earthworms and pill bugs, we talked about how they consume decaying plant and animal material, and how these organisms help to return nutrients to the Earth. When chattering about mycorrhizal fungi, we mentioned how trees can use the mycorrhizal network, or the “wood wide web,” to communicate. Also, how trees can even share resources from overabundant old-growth trees, to the smallest of saplings, even across different tree species. Later on, we created art using natural ochre rock pigments, leaves, and berries from a nearby mulberry tree. I’d mix the paint and the kids would use their leaves as stamps, leaving an impression on their paper and using the berries to leave spots on their page.
Weeks three and four included activities like water relays, watercolor, planting flowers, yoga, and creative writing. Most recently, the kids learned about air and how air quality can affect other aspects of the environment, such as temperature, water quality, and physical health.
Crafts involved painting with bubbles, where watercolor is mixed with bubble solution to create colored bubbles that leave an impression on paper. One of the kids’ favorite crafts was making ribbon wands from wood with ribbons attached to the end, allowing them to see how things flow in the wind.
Overall, the Dayton Sprouts enjoy creating, whether it be paintings or models; their favorite activities involve lots of color and freedom to choose their own path. As the Dayton Sprouts Education Coordinator, it’s wonderful to see the things or ideas they can come up with. I get to see the joy it brings to express themselves through art in relation to the environment.