The rough-legged hawk sits patiently on the fencepost. Elk move down from higher elevations as snow begins to fill the valley. Aspen leaves, half decomposed, rustle through the understory as cold winds usher in winter. All is quiet on the Kelly Campus for the first time in months. Prior to this seasonal pause, the 19th graduate class of the Teton Science Schools was busy teaching and learning about the natural history of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.The 19th cohort of graduate students began their Science Schools’ experience with a week-long backpacking trip on the Teton Crest Trail learning about ecology, community, and leadership. Following the trip, graduate students began their teaching practicum by instructing fifth graders from Teton County. From there, graduate students taught students from around the country and visited classrooms across the state of Wyoming. To inform their teaching, graduate students completed a community ecology course taught by Dr. Kevin Krasnow, Conservation Research Center Research Director and Graduate Program Faculty at the Science School. Currently, graduate students are exploring the meaning of place and how it relates to their teaching in ‘Place-based Education’ taught by Cindy Tomashaw, visiting professor from Antioch University.
Soon the Kelly Campus will be humming again with the sounds of students, eager to learn about the wildness of this place. Their eagerness will be matched with anticipation from the graduate students as they have prepared throughout the fall, and seek to positively influence students through education. But for now, the Kelly Campus will embrace the quietness and wait patiently as the winds guide us into a new season full of new learning and opportunity.
