Pollinating Hope

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Originally appears in the Fall 2019 issue.

By Aislinn Benfield

The beginning of the school year brings the familiar flood of emotions: hope, anxiety, excitement, and anticipation. From early August, my brain swirls with questions about the upcoming year. Even in a small school where I already know most of my future students, there are unknowns. But this year is a little different. Unlike the last few school years, which began with a try-try again approach to an environmental club, this fall the club has continued on the high note that ended the last school year. Now, the club is small, but firmly rooted, with a successful project implemented and plans underway for more.

I decided to form an environmental club a few years ago, while I was teaching in a large urban district. Since that time, I have moved to a rural area where I teach in a very small school district. While the student demographics of these schools may be different in many ways, there are actually many commonalities, and I have found the challenges in forming an environmental club to be similar at both locations. I teach middle and high school, and I think the struggles in reaching adolescents are universal. Obviously, I can’t speak to every location and student climate, but there are strategies that have worked for me with many different students, both in forming an environmental club, and as a teacher overall. The two most important are perseverance and the willingness to be flexible.