Daily Gazette: Pitney Meadows Program Aims to Curb Growing Disconnect Between Kids, Nature

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY: In his years of teaching young students, including in Ballston Spa and Schenectady, Andrew Ferrone noticed something was missing from many students’ lives: nature.

“One big component that students were missing from, not just their education but their lifestyle, was that nature piece,” Ferrone said.

He’s aiming to change that with a program called “Nurtured in Nature” that kicks off in September at Pitney Meadows Community Farm in Saratoga Springs. Over the course of two eight-week sessions, students in grades kindergarten through fifth will explore the farm and learn about animal signs and sounds, how animals prepare for winter, how to draw inspiration from nature to overcome obstacles and more. Each month, the group will meet twice. One gathering will focus on a science lesson and exploration, and the other on a mindfulness lesson and discovery. Ferrone will lead the classes along with his sister-in-law Leah (Lanci) Ferrone, who helped start the program and offers neuroscience-based mindfulness programs to students locally through her company called Brave Lion.

The program aims to counter a growing disconnect between students and nature.

“We’re in a funny place as a society where technology has evolved so rapidly that we’re struggling to catch up, and we’re struggling to navigate how to use it in a way that’s healthy. I think one of the byproducts of that rapidly evolving technology is a growing disconnect between young people in nature,” said Andrew Ferrone, who spent 16 years teaching at the elementary and middle school levels in Schenectady and Ballston Spa and is an administrator with Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES.

He added that in the last two decades research has shown that, alongside a disconnect from nature, there’s a rise in learning disabilities, decrease in physical health, and an increase in social-emotional challenges for young people. Read more...