Publication Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Seeds of learning
Seeds of learning
(January 21, 2004) Ohlone students replicate Native American habitat
by Lia Steakley
Students at Ohlone Elementary School are tossing aside textbooks to get to the root of a Native American culture that once inhabited Palo Alto lands.
Parents, students and staff have been working for months to create an Ohlone Native American nature preserve next to the school's 19-year-old farm. By this time next year, students will be able to gather wild grasses and ferns to weave baskets, collect acorns from the Blue Oak and Valley Oak to crush into flour and nibble on manzanita or currant berries.
The habitat with wild grasses, bushes and trees used by the Ohlones will be built around the small pond next to the farm's red and white barn.
"The Ohlone (Native Americans) lived in this area so we decided to plant native plants that the Ohlones used for food, shelter and medicinal needs," said Alexi Miller, Ohlone School farm aid.
The Ohlone Native American lesson is part of the social sciences curriculum in second and third grade.
Although the Ohlone Indian tribes have not roamed California since the 18 th century, their culture and way of life are the focus of a new landscape project at the Ohlone School.
It is believed that the Ohlone Indians were part of the Costanoan Nation, which covered land from San Francisco east to the Mount Diablo range and south along the coast past Monterey Bay as far as Point Sur. Several large mounds have been found in the Bay Area. In Palo Alto, artifacts have been discovered in San Francisquito Creek, near the old Stanford home.
Ohlone parent Claire Elliot is part of the committee that formed nearly a year and a half ago to flesh out the habitat. The parent group worked with local landscape architect Jenna Bayer to create a conceptual plan for plantings and irrigation.
"We want to have plants that have uses such as berries, acorns and basket making materials like grasses and ferns. We did a lot of research, but we also asked the kids what they wanted and the kids knew a lot about the native plants," said Elliot.
The students brainstormed a two-page list that included cattails, oak trees and wild flowers. The parent group added thimbleberry, tule, willow and several others to the list.
It's this kind of hands-on learning that makes lessons come alive for kids, teachers said.
"Learning and experiencing lessons outside helps the students understand how they can apply what they learn in the classroom to other environments around their communities," said Kim Prescott, a first-grade and kindergarten teacher.
Julie Bagniefski, a second and third grade teacher, looks forward to incorporating the new habitat into her curriculum. She's used the farm to teach lessons on topics like native insects and found students like the change of pace from classroom learning.
"Really what kids are interested in is the natural world. They get really excited when I tell them we are going out to the farm and it is so great to be able to have lessons outside every week rather than going on one or two field trips," she said.
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