Environmental education has a special place in the formation of the personality of the child. One of the methods for children to get acquainted with nature is to create a natural ecological trail. This method has appeared recently; it is used to promote nature conservation. You can organize a trail in a preschool, at school, in nature.
The concept
Ecological trail is a route that passes through ecological systems, architectural monuments, natural objects, in the process of passing, participants receive additional knowledge from the guide. For children, such excursions play an important role in shaping the worldview.
The main function of ecological routes is to foster a culture of people in nature. A correctly selected path broadens one's horizons and instills interest in the outside world. Caring for nature instills a love of the motherland, increases responsibility for the purity and preservation of the world.
The ecological trail is an opportunity to get acquainted with the surrounding biocenosis, the diversity of flora and fauna. Thanks to the knowledge gained, the experience of the child’s interaction with the environment increases. On the route, you can conduct educational work with children, employees and parents. Children with their own eyes will see the impact of man on nature.
Features
The ecological trail is a method of educating the ecological culture of children of preschool and school age. It has several differences from nature trails. This applies to the rules of organizing the ecological route, length, availability of objects and methods of working with visitors.
For preschool children, the trail allows you to expand the knowledge gained in theoretical classes. Education and upbringing of the younger generation merge together. The conditions are created for combining feelings and knowledge about nature. An ecological path in the garden connects learning with real life, instills respect for work. Children learn to draw conclusions about the consequences that human activity brings.
A feature of the ecological trail is the performance of some functions:
- Wellness
- cognitive;
- fact-finding;
- developing.
To fulfill the educational function, it is necessary to give information in a dosed manner, to allow children to independently draw conclusions based on their own observations. To interest, encourage further study of biology and ecology.
The educational function is realized thanks to the knowledge and culture of behavior that the guide forms. It is necessary to clarify the rules of conduct in the forest, park and other places.
To make the tour interesting, it is necessary to conduct classes on the ecological trail in a playful way. Outdoor activities implements a developmental and health-improving function.
When developing trails in educational institutions, it is necessary to take into account the features:
- changes in nature depending on the time of year;
- excursions vary by student age;
- the passage of the trail should involve an independent study, which can be implemented depending on age.
Kinds
Summer is the best time of the year for children to get to know nature. Acquaintance with the objects will occur in full, but other periods of the year cannot be ruled out. Training trails are classified by length, by duration, by type of route, by difficulty. When created in educational institutions, the following types of ecological paths are distinguished:
- recreational;
- educational and tourist;
- training.
Leisure and educational activities are most often formed on the basis of forest parks. The length is 4-8 km. For 3-4 hours a walking step under the guidance of a guide walks the entire route. Movement is organized in groups with stops at interesting places, cultural monuments or nature. Such routes allow us to study the interaction of man and the environment. Measures to prevent anthropogenic impacts on nature are discussed. Describes the rules of conduct on the route and in nature. The theme of the importance of preserving trees and animals is discussed. Such walks are relevant in the summer and winter.
Walking and hiking trails are long. A walk can take all day with rests. For children of preschool and primary school age, the tour will seem tedious. Used to work with adults and high school students.
Training trails are laid in the city, on the school site or in the kindergarten. The duration of the tour is from 20 minutes to 3 hours, depending on the age of the children.
For winter excursions, ski trails are used. In this case, it must be taken into account that the speed of movement will be higher than on foot. The cognitive part of the tour becomes smaller so that tourists do not freeze at stops.
The trails are led by a guide. At school, guides are high school students or a teacher. In the presence of pointers and informative plates, you can go the distance yourself.
Work organization
An ecological trail can be organized on site or outside. When choosing a place, it should be borne in mind that to maintain the functionality, material investments will be required. For a small training track, additional plants need to be planted. Trees on the ecological trail should be diverse. Natural objects for study can be a lawn, an alley, trees with bird feeders, nests.
A track is laid out between the objects, the place is marked on the plan. A scheme of the ecological trail is being laid, which will be needed in the future for study by visitors.
If possible, new types of plants should be planted along the trail so that they can be compared. Thus, the child sees the differences between spruce and pine, birch and poplar. It is interesting to see a plant that does not grow in the area. When choosing, you should take into account the climatic features of the new species.
Stumps from old trees, moss, young branches - this is of particular interest to children and allows you to see the diversity of the world.
At one of the stops you can introduce children to medicinal plants. If, in addition to plants, children see representatives of the animal world, then the path will become more fun. For this, an anthill is suitable, which must be protected. Bird feeders will draw birds to the site.
In summer, you can study insects that fly on flowers. Care should be taken when doing this. Bugs or other insects can be located under the stones. A homemade birdhouse will attract birds. If you can detect traces of small rodents, you can mark them on the map and talk about it on the tour.
Methods on the path
The ecological trail is an opportunity to apply various methods of educational work. Traveling along the natural path, the organizer chooses the type of activity depending on the age of the participants:
- classes;
- tours;
- stocks;
- games.
Of particular interest in children of preschool and primary school age are games. On the path, it is appropriate to use word games that do not require special preparation and do not depend on the weather and season. One variation is the game "finish the sentence" or "riddles."
The use of didactic material, which is located on the trail, allows children to gain practical knowledge. Children are encouraged to find a plant by seed or identify a tree by leaf.
To get acquainted with the animal world, games are selected that give an idea of the habits and life of animals. Figurative thinking develops. If the area allows, then you can organize outdoor catch-up games.
Before the game, you should make a comparison with the outside world, and use the game to consolidate the material. Note that birds are afraid of cats and fly away quickly. The game should be held according to the same rules.
Organization of an ecological trail in a preschool educational institution
The organization of ecological routes in preschool institutions has a number of features that depend on the age of the children. Kids need 2 stops to study the animal world, and the preparatory group is interested in studying plants.
Ecological path allows you to conduct classes in ecology in a fun way. Acquaintance takes place in the fresh air, can be combined with a walk. The formation of paths depends on the age of the children. The same places should be visited at different times of the year, pay attention to the changes that have occurred with the facilities.
Methods of working with children should be selected based on age characteristics. The ecological trail in the middle group is aimed at introducing children to the surrounding nature. As guides, you can attract older children. Assistance in observation and didactic games is provided by an adult. You can use the paintings of famous artists to identify patterns in nature. Poems and fiction have a positive effect on children's experiences. In the summer, children in the middle group get an idea of how cultivated plants grow. You can plant peas, beans, carrots together. The task of the educator is to show the relationship of man and nature.
The ecological trail in the older group is included in other classes held in kindergarten. Excursions take more time, pupils gain knowledge about human labor and environmental activities. At this age, children are able to express new information in drawing classes.
An important quality of the ecological trail in kindergarten is the environmental education of preschoolers. The child receives information through all the senses, which will leave vivid memories in his memory.
Features of the ecological trail at school
Initially, ecological trails were created to familiarize schoolchildren and students with the nature of their native land. But this method of work has a positive effect on younger students.
The easiest way is to create a small ecological trail on the school grounds, in this case it is called a path. A feature of the ecological trail at the school is the opportunity to arrange a route together with students. Students are interested in participating in the creation of an alpine hill, on which many plants can be planted. In this case, adolescents get acquainted with difficulty. Learn to care for plants, observe.
Observation is an important element in the development of a student’s oral and written language. This is a good feature of man. To see the world around and be able to listen will increase the erudition of the student. To achieve this, the question-think-answer method is used on the ecological trail. The teacher does not talk about what will happen. The child should, reasoning, come to the answer. The teacher helps to draw conclusions based on observations.
Darwin Museum
The ecological path of the Darwin Museum (Moscow) began to take shape in 2007. Exotic plants coexist with plants of central Russia. You can get acquainted with 26 species of trees, 42 shrubs and a lot of herbs.
Plants have successfully taken root in a metropolis. The trail is designed in such a way that you can approach any plant and look at it closely.
Description of the ecological trail can be found on the interactive whiteboard at the entrance to the museum. Passage is allowed on their own or with a guide who will talk about the flora and fauna presented in the museum.
An interesting feature of the trail is the presence of information houses about all the plants and birds that live in the museum. Full houses are interactive, which you can rotate and collect.
Trail Basics
Creating a path in institutions, you must follow the rules in order to preserve the environment and make the visit convenient. It is recommended to consider the route of the ecological trail.
It is necessary to verify the strength of the tracks, if necessary, strengthen them. Choose a trail with changes in height. When forming training paths, pay attention to the creation of weather stations, gardens, flower beds.
To develop architectural forms, signs, stands. Post rules of conduct, plan ecological trails, slogans and appeals. Arrange information about objects and natural phenomena, as well as signs and pointers that allow you to go your own way.
