The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
COVID has brought many challenges. Children have had increased screen time, decreased afterschool activities, and limited socialization. Westmoreland Sanctuary has reached out and partnered with a variety of groups to get children outside, engage them in experiential learning, and provide opportunities to socialize safely.
We adapted our services to fit a variety of needs. For some schools, we created year-long curricula. These students returned to Westmoreland every other week for programs that worked in tandem with their in-classroom learning. Other schools were restricted by transportation guidelines, so our professional staff visited them on-site and brought our programs to them. For schools that could not have in-person visits, we provided online programs, at no cost. We also increased the capacity of our internship programs to serve increased demand.
Field trips can often seem like a trade-off. While they are enriching, memorable experiences, their benefits can be difficult to justify when compared to measurable outcomes obtained in a classroom setting. However, our curriculum was specifically created with teachers in mind. Our unique programs guide students through nature while they internalize key concepts from the Next Generation Science Standards. Our adherence to these Standards, the basis for NY and CT science education, reinforces and builds upon concepts learned in the classroom. Additionally, while we possess indoor programs, we focus on outdoor experiences which also acts as a COVID safety measure.
We also partnered with scout groups, homeschooled students, and private pods. In fact, we broke our own record for most scout programs in one year. Many of the groups requesting programs were only available on the weekends, so we increased staffing on those days to meet demand.
We also had increased visitors to our Natural Science Museum and trails. We installed several new bilingual exhibits and increased staff maintenance of trails to meet demand.