As the name implies, an environmental living program (ELP) is an actual living experience that can take place at any cultural, historic,. or pre-historic site where interaction and interdependency of people and their environment is represented. The program relies heavily on pre-site explorations, extensive classroom preparation, role-playing, and problem solving -- both individually and in small and large groups.
The environmental living program experience at the
San Francisco Maritime National Historical
Park takes place aboard the three-masted schooner C.A. Thayer, a retired 156-foot
wooden sailing vessel that was built in 1895 to serve the Pacific lumber trade and was
later used for codfishing. It is primarily a role-playing experience through which an
historic era of ships and the sea is explored.
Through their participation in the program, the children (and the adults accompanying them) will experience, as nearly as possible, the life of a sailor aboard the Thayer in the year 1930. During the period from 1925 until 1950, the Thayer was based in Poulsbo, Washington as part of a fleet of ships owned by the Pacific Coast Codfishing Company. By confronting and solving the problems of everyday shipboard living, program participants become aware of the differences and similarities of the two environments -- the sailor's and their own.
Through this experience, it is hoped that the children (and the adults accompanying them) will become more curious about the physical and historical aspects of the C.A. Thayer in its natural environment as well as become more aware of their relationship to the vessel and its place in history. Ultimately, it is hopes that the participants will discover and better understand their relationship to their own environment and their own history. In this way, they will begin to see themselves as a part of history rather than an observer.
The Environmental Living Program at San Francisco Maritime is composed of the following steps:
This project is unique in that it offers the opportunity for the participants to experience, for an extended period of time, both a part of their natural environment and a part of their history. It offers a genuine opportunity for children to work cooperatively as they attempt to solve the everyday problems of people of another time and place. Furthermore, it extends and expands the concepts of "classroom" and "learning" outside of the schoolroom and into the community. It promotes a keen sense of history and the need for historical preservation.
It has been our experience that the participants come away from the program with extraordinary feelings of pride and accomplishment. Their ability to communicate with each other is greatly enhanced as well as their sensitivity and self-image. They emerge with a stronger "sense of self" and, at the same time, a more sensitive "sense of others."
Copyright © Dave Nettell, 1980
Note: This successful program continues to operate under different leadership and in a number of different formats under the auspices of the National Maritime Museum Association. For further information, click here.
Martling, Nancy. Navigating our future by sailing through our past -- An exploration in education. National Maritime Museum Association, 1997.
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