May Greetings, Elements Friends!
Elements programs instill a deep respect for the natural world, aiming to create healthy locavores and citizens who will steward the lands, and advocate on behalf of Earth's ecosystems & inhabitants. In April we prepared our garden beds, joyfully planted seeds and eagerly cleaned up litter, during our Earth Day Cleanup!
Throughout the year, Elements learners plant, tend to, and harvest from our Children's Garden. Children also learn which wild plants are edible, and how to safely ID them with the guidance of ELC staff. Lately we have been munching on chickweed, purple dead nettle, onion grass, and dandelion. Yum! Gardening and foraging are important skills for citizens of a resilient local food economy!
Last month we were grateful to have taken part in preparing cedar saplings and materials for a wetu, that is being built at RTB! Educators and members of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe shared their skills with our curious learners and we helped peel the bark from the saplings and separate the inner and outer bark, so the inner bark can be used to tie the saplings together in the wetu frame. At Elements we incorporate Indigenous Studies year-round and believe it is crucial that children learn about the many peoples who have lived on and stewarded these lands for thousands of years and continue to honor and protect the environment in important ways.
Our home site, Round the Bend Farm in Dartmouth, is bursting with flowers, buds, baby animals, and lush green growth. We'd love to share it with you! Be sure to check out all the highlights of Elements Adventure Walk, on Saturday May 14th, to join this unique event and support holistic, nature-based education for all. Last day to purchase tickets is May 13th. Check out the details and course map below and purchase tickets with this link. See you there!!
With Gratitude,
The Elements Team
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Elements Adventure Walk!
Enjoy 12 stations of fun challenges and activities while touring the beautiful Round the Bend Farm in South Dartmouth.
- Obstacle Course
- Survival Skills Challenge
- Plant ID
- Climb to the top of Moon Rock (and catch a view of Buzzards Bay & islands!)
- Visit the friendly pigs & goats
- Acorn Catapult Testing
- And More!
Guests are encouraged to BYO picnic or order farm fresh burgers, brats, & black bean burgers from the Round the Bend Farm grille. Also enjoy...
- Live Music
- Face Painting
- Tie Dye T-Shirt Station
- Plant Sale!
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Have you tried our Elements at Home
Downloadable Curriculum??
Bring holistic, joyful, outdoor learning to your homeschooling, or weekend plans. Choose to explore Spring Flowers, Backyard Plants, Planting a Garden, Snails & Slugs & more.
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Feedback from Elements At-Home Lessons
"The content is awesome! Being able to go outside and have a simple set of materials has been so helpful. These were also really great to send to grammy's house on a clipboard. When my mom watches her it helps them to get outside."
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Annawon Weeden of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe showing Elements learners how to seperate the inner and outer bark after it was stripped from the cedar saplings. The pliable inner bark was later used to lash together the cedar poles of the wetu frame. Check out more photos of this process on our Facebook & Instagram accounts.
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Additional Ways to Support Elements
Sponsor a Week of Learning!
We believe every child deserves the opportunity for an Elements experience. You can help make this possible by sponsoring an Elements Learner for 1, 2 or 4 weeks of meaningful, joyful, holistic learning. Click here to make your donation today.
Enter a Raffle!
Our friends have organized a raffle for tickets to
Levitate Music Festival!
Winner receives 2x VIP 21+ tickets (3-Day) and 2x Kids General Admission (3-Day) tickets for an ENTIRE weekend of live music + fun.
ENTER HERE
Each entry is just $10, enter as many times as you'd like!
100% of proceeds support Elements!
This year's headliners include Jack Johnson, Stephen Marley, Phil Lesh, and Old Crow Medicine Show.
See the full lineup and all event details here.
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Employment and Volunteer Opportunities!
Join the Elements team as an Educator, a Volunteer, a Workshop Facilitator, or a Summer Youth Camp Counselor (21 & younger).
Email elementslearning@gmail.com for details.
Want to help families access nutritious local food? Join RTB, with "Manifest Love" partners, Y.O.U. YWCA, & NorthStar Learning as they plant, tend to, and harvest produce for Southcoast families experiencing food insecurity. Click here to learn more about how you can be a part of the Manifest Love project!
Y.O.U (Youth Opportunities Unlimited) in New Bedford is hiring an Operations Director and a Program Manager. Click here for details.
YWCA is hiring multiple employment and internship positions! Learn more about the important work of The YWCA and the jobs available here. |
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Local Community Fun!
5/11 - Dyeing to Wear It: Creating Community through Color
This is an interactive workshop where participants will create an aesthetic and versatile piece of wearable art. Wednesday, May 11 from 5:30-7:30pm at Millicent Library in Fairhaven. Pre-registration is required. Click here for more information.
**5/14 - Elements Adventure Walk Fundraiser**
Enjoy a unique and fun-filled experience in support of Elements Scholarship Fund! Follow a map of 12 challenges that take you around Elements home-site at Round the Bend Farm.
View details and purchase tickets here.
5/21 - Painting with Nature
Investigate painting with natural materials in a historic garden, discover the New Bedford Free Public Library's new camp iREAD summer reading program for all ages, and explore the mansion with a free tour. Located at Rotch Jones Duff House and Garden Museum in New Bedford at 11am-12pm on Saturday May 21st. Click here for more information.
Ongoing local events...
Open Farm Days at RTB
Visit Elements on Saturday May 21st from 10am-2pm, at Round the Bend Farm's Open Farm Day. Produce, herbs, meats, food from the grille, farm tours, & more! Open Farm days take place every third Saturday of every month from now until December.
Click here for more info.
Roger Williams Park Zoo
Roger Williams Park Zoo has many fun activities the whole family can enjoy from the Asian Lantern Spectacular to Rain Forest Reptile Shows to Food Truck Fridays to Yoga with the Elephants. Check out there full list of events this summer by clicking here.
Art, Nature, and Play in David Bird's Becorns Exhibit
We love Becorns!! This exhibit is available Tuesdays –Saturdays 10 AM – 4 PM and Sundays 10 AM – 3 PM at Blithewolde Mansion in Bristol, RI. Click here for more information and other events!
We Art NB @ AHA! Night
Every 2nd Thursday of the month, head to Downtown New Bedford for a variety of activities, events and exhibits hosted by local artists, merchants, organizations and restaurants.
For more information click here.
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