There are many ways to teach with Cascadia Field Guide, on the trail or in a classroom.  We are finding that students from Cascadia and beyond love thinking about their own places through this lens.  Below are some specific lesson plans and some resources for you to explore.

We also want to offer this beautiful story from a teacher in California about her experience teaching with Cascadia Field Guide:
I taught it in a 300 -level undergraduate course made up of mostly non-majors. We spent three or four weeks on Cascadia. The nice surprise, and the results different from the rest of the course texts & their accompanying projects, was how Cascadia made space for students to connect with the places they in particular love. I asked students to create their own mini field guide. They had to choose a place and begin by describing the bio region and identifying Indigenous peoples of that area, and make a list of native non-human beings. They then selected three beings on which to focus, and wrote for each a prose introduction, similar to Cascadia. 
 
One student who had lived the first decade of her life in Colorado, and had not been back though she wants to, focused on the part of Colorado in which she was born, and loved that she taught her self about a few of the native species. Another student from the LA area also learned a lot about various species from the project--and said that it made her feel closer to a place in which she had had fraught experiences with/in the human world. Another student, Hawaiian, said he loved the assignment because he could write about his home--a place that he loves and has tremendous pride in. Students gave brief presentations, and benefitted from each other's guides.

Dr. Jacqueline Lyons
Professor of English & Creative Writing, California Lutheran University
Resources
At the back of Cascadia Field Guide, we include selected resources for furthering your engagement: 
  • Field guides we love
  • Places to learn more about First People and Traditional Ecological Knowledge
  • Great nonfiction books about Cascadia
  • Cascadian conservation and educational organizations
  • and more..
Online Resources
Tools for Exploring Cascadia
Your best tools for enjoying Cascadia, in addition to this special guide, are time and attention. That said, a few simple items can enhance your experiences.
  • Binoculars: Good binoculars are no longer a break-the-bank purchase. Look for 8x40 or 10x42 binoculars. The editors particularly appreciate waterproof, warrantied, barrel-shape binoculars (we drop things and hike in the rain).
  • Hand lens: A small loupe like a jeweler uses is helpful for looking closely at plants, lichens, and rocks. Seek a sturdy 10x lens and put it on a string so you can wear it around your neck as you walk.
  • Notepad and pencil: So old school! But it’s true. Taking notes, making lists, and sketching can help focus your attention. A smartphone is a good tool too. ​​
Learn Together with a Hugo House Class: Writing with the Cascadia Field Guide with Sierra Nelson
When: Saturdays in August (Aug 5th to Aug 26th, 4 sessions total), 1:10-3:10 p.m. PST
Where: ONLINE via Zoom
Dive into the poems and naturalist insights in Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry--learning about fascinating creatures and plants living in "Cascadia" (Alaska to California, land and ocean). Then we'll generate our own writing (open to any genre) using in-class prompts inspired by the readings and diverse authors. Your writing can connect to any ecosystem; you don't have to live in Cascadia. https://hugohouse.org/product/writing-with-the-cascadia-field-guide/

Teaching with this Guide
We have a few suggestions for ways this book might be used as a teaching tool, whether on the trail or in the classroom.... this section will grow over time.

For Younger Students:
  • Write a Community Poem for a being:  For first grade and up. Get a pdf of the lesson plan
  • Cascadia Critters: Younger children (or playful adults!) learn about some of the beings who live in Cascadia and roleplay becoming that being. Get a pdf of the lesson plan.
  • Be a Bioregion Detective. Use all of your senses to hone observation skills and experience and make special connections to Cascadia/your place. Get a pdf of the lesson plan.

For Older Students:
  • Reading for Wonder: Use Cascadia Field Guide to teach close reading to high school or college students.  Get a pdf of the lesson plan.
  • Make your Own Guide: Write or find a poem; research and write your own being story; find or create art that honors these beings. Get a pdf of the lesson plan.  
  • Giving Back to Cascadia: Support vibrant habitats and communities by developing or taking part in an action project to address an environmental issue in Cascadia. Get a pdf of the lesson plan.
  • "Other" the Field Guide: Consider poems, artistic approaches, and more to think about how we can welcome more voices and visions. Get a pdf of the lesson plan.
  • Interview a Cascadia Being: Write a script and present a creative interview that will captivate the audience and reveal more about the hopes, dreams, hardships, and daily life of that being.  Get a pdf of the lesson plan.
  • Create Imaginative Empathy: Write a poem that embodies imaginative empathy for a being other than Human.  Get a pdf of the lesson plan.
Want to share a lesson plan or suggestion?  Click the "Connect" tab and reach out. We're interested in how folks can use this guide in K-12 classrooms, on the trail, in universities, in community writing centers, in adult learning environments of all kinds.