The Conservatory receives grant to create Discovery Carts

September 28, 2005

Miami University Hamilton has been awarded a $4,994 grant from the Ohio EPA Office of Environmental Education to establish mobile Discovery Carts to be used in educational programs at The Conservatory.

The Discovery Carts, small 4’x3’x2’ wheeled resource centers, are constructed around ecological themes. The carts demonstrate scientific concepts and provide learners a unique, hands-on experience while illustrating environmental conservation activities learners can implement to help protect the Earth.

Because the carts are mobile, they can be used outside of The Conservatory and they are designed especially for classrooms. This spring, Miami Hamilton staff will show fourth grade teachers from the Hamilton City Schools how to use the carts and will provide training materials for the teachers.

According to Dan Gladish, associate professor of botany and director of The Conservatory, “We are thrilled to be able to offer the community this learning opportunity. The Discovery Carts will help learners discover how their daily actions help or harm our environment, to understand the basic underlying biological principals of the interactions of plants, animals, and the environment, and to be able to take appropriate actions that promote the health and understanding of our environment.”

The Discovery Cart Program scheduled to begin in the spring will feature two carts on the topic of vermicomposting, which demonstrates how to turn kitchen vegetable waste into useful byproducts using worms, while at the same time reducing the flow of recyclable wastes into landfills.

Future topics include prairies and wetlands and their importance to the environment; insects, designed to bring visitors and students up close to bugs; leaves, emphasizing the purpose and great variety of leaves; and basic plant propagation, which will emphasize the scientific process of seed germination and the formation of roots on cuttings.