We missed the photographic opportunity of the season the other day. Hours before capturing the beauty of two dozen sunflowers at our Albany High School garden on Tuesday, Sept. 17, scores upon scores of bees were buzzing around the giant yellow flowers pictured here. They must have finished their meals. We did not see many again after that glorious moment.
So, here’s how we want to ensure that we maximize the value of the moment 12 months from now: We would like to invite Albany High living environment teachers and environmental science teachers and, well, every other teacher who thinks this sounds worthwhile, to bring classes out to see and experience what we see and experience. And while we don’t want to sound like salespeople in this world who promise more than they can possibly deliver, we are pretty sure that substantial numbers of students will be transfixed, entranced and captivated in a way that doesn’t happen inside classrooms. Teaching opportunities – about plant life cycles or pollination of adaptation or interdependence – will abound. And with that experience, some of the hardest-to-reach students will be eager to learn.
Teachers will get a glimpse at what we mean when we talk about harnessing the power of exposure to nature.
But here is the catch: We need to hear from teachers who are interested well before mid-September 2025. We need to head into spring with some sense of how many classes with how many students we might host. We need to think about actually intentionally planting seeds, rather than hoping that seeds dropped by this year’s plants will produce what we need. We want to think about how we can support teachers in making this an amazing moment. We need to think about resources we might want to organize and perhaps offer. We need to plan how we can all move quickly when we see the moment developing.
And how can teachers reach us? Well, the best bet is to stop and say hello when we are out in the garden by the North Main Avenue entrance to school grounds. But please also drop an email to [email protected] or text 518-728-6799.
–Bill Stoneman
