Rangers of the Earth logo

Rangers of the Earthtm

     4th and 5th graders

     one full day outdoors in the fall; another in the winter; year-long program

      Helps learners understand some basic ecological processes, enjoy experiencing the natural world, and examine how their lives impact on the earth's systems

Sharing a 'whiff'
Sharing a 'whiff'

 Rangers of the Earth begins in the classroom or meeting place when a box arrives and presents the students with a riddle. Soon the youngsters spend a day outdoors learning how materials cycle and getting in touch with the natural world. Back at their meeting place (or classroom) they work on some individual and group tasks to further their understandings, experiences, and individual lifestyle choices. Later they come back to the training camp to find the answer to another riddle and go home to apply their new understandings. Group tasks focus on taking home the ecological concepts introduced at the Rangers Training Camp and individual tasks include keeping new less-wasteful habits and exploring and experiencing local natural areas. The year culminates in a group project that grows out of the year's learning and experiences. This program could become the backbone of the year's studies. Rangers of the Earth was designed by The Institute for Earth Education.

In December 2012, Sweet Hollow Hall in West Hills County Park burned down. Our Earth Ranger trainees went there for 2 full day trips to the 'Rangers Training Camp'. We have moved this to Manor Farm but we have additional challenges and needs at this site. Please help us out.


There are five Phases to this program. It takes an entire school year and requires dedication to follow through with students. But we believe this is a very powerful program that can really make a difference. We are proud to have been a major pilot site. The book describing the program was published in October 2005. It's available from The Institute for Earth Education (email: iee1@aol.com). There is already much interest in this program from around the world!

Behind the Curtain
'Behind the Curtain'

Magic Spots
experiencing solitude

This was the fifteenth year we have an after-school group at the Martin Luther King, Jr. School in Wyandanch. In past years we've had classes from Norwood Ave School in Northport, a group of home-schooled youngsters through LIGHT, Oldfield Middle School in Greenlawn, Holy Family School in Hicksville, Huntington Intermediate & Southdown Intermediate Schools in Huntington, and Atkinson School in Freeport. We've also had some trainees from Huntington that met at Manor Farm.

filling a munch tray
filling a 'munch tray'

writing a patrol report
writing a patrol report

leaf slides
leaf slides

on patrol
On Patrol

Opening a Time Capsule
Opening a Time Capsule

Connection Inspection
Getting connected into the web of life

In the spring of 2010, the trainees decided to try to get people in their community to use less plastic bags. They gave presentations to all the 3rd and 4th grade classes in their school and sent all the kids home with reusable bags to use instead.

speaking to a 3rd grade class
Speaking to a 3rd grade class

passing out reusable bags
Passing out reusable bags

Participants will be invited to our Earth Explorers in the summer and Earth Exploring Adventures during the school year.

If you have a group that would like to participate in this program, please let us know right away. We'll have a lot to go over with you.

You can e-mail us at info@starflowerexperiences.org.

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