Westfield Washington Township (WWT) is collaborating with Westfield Washington Schools (WWS) to bring nature and parks into the preschool classrooms. Preschool students are not yet old enough to take a field trip to MacGregor Park, so the township decided to bring the field trip to them.
Kristy White, Director of Education for the township, will visit the eight All Aboard classes once a month through the school year. Kristy has over 10 years of experience teaching preschool enrichment programs at the township.
“We hope to bring nature-related themes into the All Aboard program as well as other preschool related topics,” said White.
Research has shown that introducing young children to nature can promote creativity, reduce anxiety and increase their interest in the environment. The township’s goal is to work with WWS to help build an environmental education program that will get children excited about nature and outdoor space so as they get older they will be interested in visiting passive nature parks such as MacGregor Park.
“Strong partners like Westfield Washington Township allow us to broaden our students’ educational experience beyond the classroom,” said Marci Derado, Director of Student Support Programs for Westfield Washington Schools. “Plus, the students have really enjoyed the interactive and engaging presentations from the township staff! Developing multi-municipality relationships such as this is important to WWT and we hope to expand the program in the future to include more elementary-aged students.”
For more information on Westfield Washington Township, please visit westfieldwashingtontwp.us.