Outreach+Plan

Playscapers Outreach Initiative: "Extending the lesson" MISSION STATEMENT: The Playscapers is a multimedia program for children ages 6-9 to connect with each other, explore the outdoors, and learn about the ecology of their own backyards. At the heart of our outreach initiative, we are looking to extend the lesson beyond the half-hour on-air segment each week. In doing so, we are encouraging our viewers to connect and interact with nature in the same way that our Playscapers do on screen. While we are certain that our program is an invaluable source of educational entertainment for our viewers, we recognize the limits of a weekly half-hour show. There is great potential, therefore, in an outreach plan that fosters a love of the environment and allows children to become immersed in their natural surroundings, learning from the experience and recognizing the value in it as well. With a three-tiered approach to outreach, from the classroom to the national level, we have created resources and activities for all learners to explore and enjoy. In the words of Uche, "let's get going!"
 * Introduction**

There is a wealth of opportunity in implementing our project's scope and sequence at the elementary school level. However, as educators and environmentalists, we recognize the importance in keeping our message consistent and clear across the many channels it may take. After extensive research and reporting, we were able to design and create a comprehensive package of activities and lessons that will not distort or dilute the original mission statement of our program. Rather, through a classroom curriculum, in community-based events, and with a national branding campaign, our outreach projects will complement the message viewers hear and see on our program and via our website each week.
 * Research and Resources**

As we began to plan for our initiative, we were able to speak with Mary Haggerty, Educational Outreach Manager of WGBH Educational Foundation. Mary, a resident expert on outreach for children, has overseen the implementation of such projects as the //Arthur// Hooray for Health! campaign//, the Between the Lions// Literacy Initiative, the //Martha Speaks// Reading Buddies Program, //and the Peep and the Big Wide World// Explorer's Guide. With insight and experience in the children's educational market, Mary reflected on the essential components of a successful outreach design: **PUT MARYS COMMENTS HERE** Further, during a class lecture, Bruce Curtiss, project director for WGBH's //We Shall Remain// program, reminded us that building a structure that allows participants to interact with the project is an effective way of engaging one's targeted audience. Therefore, the success of a project depends greatly on its ability to adapt and become adapted by those who are using it in their communities and classrooms. Curtiss emphasized the importance of providing his clients with the resources and information to "engage in a conversation", thus furthering their own knowledge and understanding of the subject area (Curtiss, HT-123 lecture, April 7, 2008).

research articles?? put here.

We have designed a multi-unit, multi-layered //Playscapers Curriculum Guide,// for classroom teachers, after-school group leaders, community-based organizers, and parents and caregivers to incite and inspire their young learners through inquiry and exploration of the natural world. With specific exploratory activities and lesson plans, children will truly begin to immerse themselves in their surroundings, identifying plant and animal life, recognizing hazardous or harmful situations for the wildlife, and begin to learn how to better protect the natural habitats for the wildlife observed. Throughout the Playscapers guidebook, educators are encouraged to ask children to reflect on their experiences observing and interacting with nature, thus helping to reinforce the learning objectives of each lesson.
 * Curriculum Guide:

**Our Playscapers Curriculum Guide has been piloted in a few Boston schools (both suburban and urban settings), so that, along with the extensive lesson plans, each guide provides helpful vignettes for educators to reference during their own experience connecting their children to nature. The Playscapers Curriculum Guide is appropriate for children exploring themes of environmental science in the second through fourth grades. The lessons are easily accessible, and can be taken out of order, or embedded within other units as well. Each lesson plan within the guide lists the corresponding episodes and website pages that complements the content being explicitly taught. Therefore, the comprehensive package can be adapted and combined with other key components of our program, to create an ideal learning structure for each young citizen scientist!

//Professional Development: Connecting with Classrooms// Before a new season airs each fall, we partner with various universities to bring elementary educators, community organizers and curriculum specialists into week-long professional development courses on innovative science exploration and education. We begin by airing a few of our latest episodes and subsequently allowing them to "play" on our website, in order for them to get a sense of our educational objectives. With a brief overview from our staff and advisor, we begin unveiling the scope and sequence to our Playscapers Curriculum Guide, the multi-unit coursebook (made of recyclable material) detailing classroom projects, activities, lesson plans, and reading lists teachers can use to focus their environmental education instruction. Partnering with John Wiley, a science publishing company, to produce the material, we guarantee that our literature has been vetted by a number of experts in the fields of business, education, and science.

//Reading Lists for Every Unit Within our curriculum guide, we have created reading lists for children who want to learn more about the cycle of life. Our advisors have For the "Growing" theme:

Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening together with children by Sharon Lovejoy

Ready, Set, Grow! A Kid’s Guide to Gardening by Rebecca Spohn

Sow and Grow: A Gardening Book for Children by Tina Davis

Gardening Wizardry for Kids by L. Patricia Kite //

Footage taken on the tours can be uploaded to our website, and even included at the end of an episode. In this way, we can expand upon our viewership, and open more eyes to the possibilities of positive impact in your own backyard. In addition, we are hoping that young eager minds will develop their own ideas and areas to explore. **
 * Community Events**
 * The Playscapers playground is a central theme to our program: one that our viewers will recognize and appreciate as a source of inspiration and play. Therefore, what a better way to initiate our community-wide events than with the use of neighborhood playgrounds everywhere. Enlisting volunteers and outreach coordinators, we are using the safe, central location of many playgrounds throughout the country to connect children with the similar interest of the program and its content. Through organized events that begin at the playground, trail leaders will take small groups of kids on exploration of the great outdoors, using the playground as a backdrop for their projects and experiments. Playscapers fans, using our social networking and Uche-email newsletters to find other fans in their area, can sign up to participate in a myriad of organized explorations, including:
 * garden clean ups
 * tours of outdoor science museum exhibits
 * tours of natural history museum exhibit
 * trips to greenhouses
 * trips to local farms
 * trips to farmer's markets
 * talks given by renewable energy companies

Finally, we are proud to present our national branding campaign. With the use of our weekly segment, and heavy traffic to our website, we will begin publicizing a "playground design" contest: viewers from all over the country will submit their design ideas for a playground to be build in their community. We have commissioned construction of one playground per season, thus making it an annual event our outreach team to champion and promote throughout the year. Partnering with an eco-friendly playground construction company, our advisors will choose a "winner" from the group, and we will follow the project from soup to nuts. The winning entry will be awarded "Playscaper for a day" and meet with the Playscaper cast and crew on set. The campaign provides a perfect opportunity for our characters to interact with their fans, taking questions about their roles as environmental stewards, and possibly generating new ideas for story content on our show. When Chase, Grace, LeMarke and Serina travel to the construction site, viewers will fully realize these actors are "just like" them, thus empowering them even more to want to make a difference in their community's landscape. Once the playground has been designed, created, and built, we will host a Playscapers party, inviting viewers from all over to join us for the exploration event.
 * National Branding Campaign**

With these three culminating projects, we have created something for everyone to learn from and enjoy. Whether a viewer is interested in a structured activity with a family member or teacher, an urban exploration with other Playscapers fans, or a chance to impact the landscape of their community, the opportunities are endless, and the adventures are just beginning!