We began our day by taking a tour of one of two Seed Lending Libraries on campus here at UBC. Located behind the librarian's counter in the Education Library in the Scarfe building, the Seed Library is a place where people can take and leave seeds for others to plant. What a great initiative to build a sense of community in our lives! After borrowing some flower and herb seeds, we returned to our guerrilla garden to plant (don't tell campus police).
Seed Library in the Education Library
Vegetable seeds from the Seed Library
After planting, we used a giant sundial made by two students in the Faculty of Education to tell the time. After positioning the sundial pointing north, we were able to use our shadows to tell the time. We then took part in some embodied mathematics, using our bodies to measure the elevation of the sun. We found that when stacking our fists from a 90˚ origin, each fist was roughly equal to 9˚. How cool?! Embodied mathematics is a fantastic way to root mathematical ideas into something real and practical and to see where these ideas really come from.
Sundial made by Nat Kozak and Cryss Phellan
Measuring the angle of elevation of the sun
We then met up with Hart Banack, outdoor educator, who lead us and a few others including two poets, a physicists, and a marine botanist, on a walk to and along Wreck Beach. Stopping along the way, we talked about our surroundings and how we so often take what is around us for granted. As educators, we have a tremendous opportunity to use our diverse environment to act as co-teachers to build further connections to what we are all learning. It was amazing being able to connect to others who have such a diverse background. Even though we are all from different faculties and different places of the world, the one thing we all have in common is a connection to the world, and what a waste it would be if we neglected it.
Walking down the steps to Wreck Beach
A windy day on the beach
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