Lesson Plans For Paradise
Creating Sustainability Education Programs at Paradise Creek Nature Park (click PDF)
Spring 2013
Team members: Matt Menezes, Angie Cerimele, Monica Wilson, Brett Rappaport, Julie Duval
Creating Sustainability Education Programs at the Paradise Creek Nature Park
On behalf of Robin Dunbar, Deputy Director of Education and Public Outreach Manager of the Elizabeth River Project, we created a series of lesson plans for the Paradise Creek Nature Park (PCNP). The Park is a 40-acre preserve in Portsmouth, Virginia, built through collaboration of the Elizabeth River Project, community businesses, and the people of Portsmouth. Paradise Creek is part of the Elizabeth River, one of the main waterways that empties into the Chesapeake Bay via the James River, and has long been a major artery for commerce, as well as supporting a thriving community. In the last few decades, the Elizabeth River has become one of the most polluted rivers in the United States, but efforts by the Elizabeth River Project aim to make the waterway safe for swimming and fishing by 2020. The Learning Barge, designed by Phoebe Crisman of the University of Virginia, first took up the educational role of the Elizabeth River Project. The barge offers local children an opportunity to learn hands-on lessons about the river and efforts to restore it. The PCNP takes this endeavor further, creating a new landmark in the community that symbolizes the restoration efforts. The lesson plans included in this project present information about the park, the Elizabeth River system, and conservation as a whole. These lessons are tailored to elementary, middle, and high school students. Our group draws from environmental conservation efforts and outdoor education programs, as well as the Virginia Standards of Learning, to create programs that are relevant and accessible to different age groups. Included here is a synopsis of that precedent research, a description of the park’s role in the community and its potential impact, and the lesson plans to begin community education programming in the Paradise Creek Nature Park.
