Stew Crew (Student Stewardship Program)
Stewardship Crew (Stew Crew) is a hands-on service learning program where students have the opportunity to care for the earth through direct action that fosters individual responsibility and benefits the school community. The program is designed for middle school students and is one of three elective courses from which they can choose. Students meet after lunch four times per week for 45 minutes to join the environmental education teachers in the woods that surround the school campus. Students work together to remove invasive plant species, collect and sow seeds from native plants, and build and maintain trails throughout the school’s property. Not only does this activity help the school ecologically, it also beautifies the landscape and provides other classes with a living laboratory for environmental education learning opportunities. This program builds character, confidence, and teamwork in students and generates their success by teaching them that each individual has the power and ability to make the world a better place.