I have been involved with KWC from the very start. First as a volunteer and later as a board member. It is so wonderful to see the children's faces as they "get it" when the speakers talk about environmental education. NatureScope is a 2 day field day filled with educational speakers. You cannot get this much information in the classroom. The children get to touch it and experience it. This is great!!
Wonderfull organization to help spread an environmental message to K-5 children of Berkeley County. The 2-day jamboree in Santee Canal Park is a great outing in a beautiful setting to help increase the environmental awareness of children and their teachers and parents.
I have been a board member for Kids Who Care now for almost ten years and each year I get reminded anew of how much of an impact this program has on the school children in Berkeley County. For many children, it is the first time in their lives that they have had a chance to see some of the wildlife exhibited - let alone getting a chance to be face-to-face with them. The same goes for many of the hands-on exhibits that give the children a greater understanding and respect for their environment and environmental science.
This raising of environmental awareness is continued in the classroom both through the science projects that the children create and through the grants awarded to the winning classrooms that are used to further promote environmental science in our county.
I have been a board member for 2 1/2 years and I have to say this is one of the most rewarding volunteer experiences I've ever been a part of. As a parent of two children who have had the opportunity to attend Backyard NatureScope Kids Who Care I never knew what my children were able to experience in that field trip to Santee Canal Park until I actually became a part of the board and volunteered at the event each year. It is very educational and all the volunteers seem to love what they do, including me.
I have been on the board for Kids Who Care for quite a few years. I have children who have attended NatureScope. This organization not only instills good environmental ethics in our students it also demonstrates good leadership and community involvement as well as teamwork. What better partnership could you ask for between schools and businesses? My only wish would be to branch out...challenge other counties to get involved and maybe even take our competition outside Berkeley County. Some of the projects are really great and could certainly be shown beyond our local community. From classroom to the world we are making our environmental footprint, one student at a time.
My name is Laurin and I am a 3rd Grade teacher at Sedgefield Intermediate. I was very excited to hear about this program. Not only because it would allow for my students to attend a field trip to the Old Santee Canal Park, but also because of the great opportunity it gave my students. This project allowed my students to really understand the importance of helping the environment and recycling. Our class project involved us reusing milk cartons and giving back to the environment by turning the cartons into bird feeders. The students also benefited because it taught them how to work together and learn from each other. I cannot wait to see how much my students get out of their experience at Old Santee Canal Park, and just them knowing that they were a key part to them earning this field trip will teach them a deep appreciation of hard work. I also believe that people naturally benefit from giving back to others... This project was a wonderful experience. Not to mention that my class won a $500 grant (1st place in the 3-5 individual competition)!!
The Kids Who care Program not only provides grants for the winning projects, but a Nature Scope field trip for all participants. This allows our children to feel valued whether they win or lose. The Nature Scope field trip gives our students a variety of fun science experiences. The process is easy to apply for and easy to execute. Support is given if needed and they are always available to answer questions
I have been participating in this program for 8-9 years. It is a great program to expose the students to environmental issues. They enjoy the program and really enjoy the field trip.
I am a kindergarten teacher in Berkeley County and have found the Kids Who Care board to be an amazing group of dedicated volunteers who truly want to inspire the youth of today to be environmentally aware of the impact we have on this earth. They are there from the beginning of the school year with contacts available to volunteers in a wide array of businesses to help teachers with their project ideas. The NatureScope field day they put together is superb, and provides an opportunity for students to experience a full day of science outside the classroom. As a bonus, they award monetary prizes for projects and my class project just provided a $200 prize that will help enhance our environmental science studies. This non-profit organization ROCKS!
I am a new teacher to Berkeley County schools. Therefore, this was the first time I participated in Kids Who Care and my class along with another won!! It is very exciting to know that my students hard work and understanding of recycling items paid off. It is also awesome to recieve prize money to help out my classroom. I think this is a great nonprofit service!