The goal of Walking with Wonder: Our Everglades Animal Walk is to bring students, teachers, and staff together through science, reading, writing, and an appreciation for the unique natural world of Southwest Florida.
This project will transform our school campus into an outdoor learning experience where students and adults can learn about the incredible animals of the Everglades while simply walking around the school grounds. Students will become environmental ambassadors as they research an Everglades animal, share their learning through writing and art, and create a lasting resource that can be enjoyed by the entire school community.
Our goal is to help students recognize that science and literacy are not limited to the classroom. Learning can happen anywhere—including on the sidewalks and grassy walkways of our own school campus.
Each classroom will select an animal native to or associated with the Florida Everglades. The animal will be matched with the teacher's name using alliteration, creating a fun and memorable classroom identity.
For example:
Ms. Malik's Manatees
Ms. Abrantes's Alligators
Ms. Sanchez's Snail Kites
Ms. Brown's Bobcats
Ms. Carland's Crocodiles
Each class will become the "expert" on its selected animal. Students will research their animal using age-appropriate books and informational resources. Working collaboratively with their teacher, students will learn important facts about their animal, including its habitat, physical characteristics, diet, adaptations, behaviors, and role within the Everglades ecosystem. Each classroom will create a colorful, educational poster featuring: the teacher's name and classroom animal, a large illustration or photograph of the animal, interesting animal facts, information about the animal's habitat, important adaptations or characteristics,
Information about what the animal eats or how it survives, why the animal is important to the Everglades ecosystem. The project will provide students with an authentic reason to read, research, write, discuss, revise, and communicate information.
The Everglades Animal Walk
Once completed, each classroom poster will be professionally printed and mounted on durable grass stakes. The signs will be strategically placed along the grassy areas and walkways around the school campus. As students, teachers, staff, families, and visitors walk around the school, they will encounter the different Everglades animals and have the opportunity to stop and read about them. The campus will become a living science and literacy trail. A student walking to lunch might encounter Ms. Malik's Manatees. A teacher walking to another classroom might discover Ms. Abrantes's Alligators. A family member visiting the school might learn why a snail kite is an important part of the Everglades ecosystem. The signs will provide repeated, authentic opportunities for students and adults to encounter science vocabulary and Everglades knowledge throughout the school year.
The project will encourage teachers and staff to use the animal signs as extensions of classroom learning.
Students may:
Read the signs during class walks.
Compare two different Everglades animals.
Identify similarities and differences.
Write questions about animals they discover.
Keep a nature or science journal.
Research an animal they find particularly interesting.
Create additional writing based on their animal.
Practice using science vocabulary.
Discuss food chains, habitats, adaptations, and ecosystems.
Make observations about wildlife they see around the school.
The project will connect science and literacy across grade levels while creating a common experience for the entire school.
1. Strengthens Science Learning
Students will develop a deeper understanding of Everglades animals, habitats, adaptations, food webs, and ecosystems. They will learn not only what an animal is, but why that animal matters and how it contributes to a healthy ecosystem.
2. Supports Reading and Writing
Students will use authentic informational texts to research their animal and then communicate what they have learned through writing. Creating a poster gives students a meaningful purpose for reading, gathering information, organizing ideas, and writing for an authentic audience.
3. Creates a School-Wide Community
Every classroom will contribute to one larger project. Students will have the opportunity to see what other classrooms have learned, while teachers and staff become part of a shared school-wide learning experience. The project creates a sense that everyone has a place in our school's science story.
4. Makes Learning Visible
Instead of student work being displayed only inside classrooms, student learning will become visible throughout the school campus. The professionally printed signs will showcase students' knowledge and demonstrate that their work has value beyond the classroom.
5. Encourages Curiosity and Conversation
The animal signs will naturally encourage students to stop, read, ask questions, and talk about what they have learned. A simple walk across campus can become an opportunity for discovery:
"What animal is that?"
"Where does it live?"
"What does it eat?"
"Why is it important?"
"What would happen if it disappeared?"
6. Develops Environmental Stewardship
Southwest Florida students live near one of the world's most unique ecosystems. By learning about the animals that depend on the Everglades, students can develop a greater appreciation for the environment and understand why protecting natural habitats matters. The project will help students see themselves as caretakers and stewards of the natural world around them.
7. Provides a Lasting Resource
The professionally printed animal signs will remain on campus as a lasting educational resource. They can be enjoyed by current students, future students, teachers, staff, families, and visitors for years to come. The project will create an outdoor learning environment that continues to teach even when a formal lesson is not taking place.
The Lasting Impact
Walking with Wonder: Our Everglades Animal Walk will turn our school campus into a place where science and literacy are experienced every day.
Students will not simply learn about the Everglades—they will become connected to it.
They will read.
They will research.
They will write.
They will create.
They will teach others.
They will walk.
They will wonder.
And as they encounter Ms. Malik's Manatees, Ms. Abrantes's Alligators, and many other classroom animals, they will discover that the natural world is not somewhere far away.
It is right here around us, waiting to be noticed.
Funding is requested for the purchase of 55 professionally printed, weather-resistant animal signs with grass stakes, at an estimated cost of $32.98 per sign, for a total of $1813.90
Classroom teachers K-5 = 38 signs @ $32.98 each = $1253.24
IBI and ESE teachers = 12 @ $32.98 each = $395.76
Related Arts teachers = 5 @ $32.98 each = $164.90
Each sign will feature a classroom's selected Everglades animal, the teacher/classroom name using alliteration (such as Ms. Malik's Manatees or Ms. Abrantes's Alligators), student-created animal facts, and information explaining why the animal is important to the Everglades ecosystem.
The professionally printed signs will be mounted on durable grass stakes and strategically placed along the grassy areas and walkways throughout the school campus. This investment will transform the school grounds into a school-wide outdoor science and literacy trail accessible to students, teachers, staff, families, and visitors.
