Environmental creative writing made its debut for Kermit McKenzie Junior High School students last spring. Now, a book featuring some of their essays has been published, and several students attended the book signing on Jan. 25 at the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center.
The Dunes Center writing project, The Dune Forum: Animals and Don’t Forget Plants Too, focused on wildlife, ecology, and astronomy. The project involved more than 100 students.
Seventh-grade student Mariann Andrade wrote an essay that piqued her interest in dendrology or botany.
“I would like to learn more about trees so that I can write about them,” Andrade said in a press release. “I am interested in learning how they grow up and become strong.”
Guadalupe students prepped for the task with science lessons about owl digestion and physiology, the origins of the sand dunes, and animal tracks. Essays and poems were written last spring, and more than 20 were published.
Junior high science teacher David Hosking said in the release that he encouraged his students to write creatively by using their imaginations.
“They were allowed to place themselves, their friends, family members, and whoever they wanted in the writing experience,” Hosking said. “My students enjoyed it, and I am more than proud of their efforts.”
Copies of the book are available at the Dunes Center in Guadalupe at 1065 Guadalupe St.
This article appears in Feb 6-13, 2014.