Some of the most important and purposeful work we can think of involves inspiring the future of our environment's stewards to learn about, care for, and share their care for, Mother Nature. And there's a local non-profit organization in Portland, Oregon doing just that - Ecology in Classrooms & Outdoors (ECO).
Through both in-classroom ecology lessons and hands-on ecological enrichment programs, over the past 12 years, ECO has inspired over 20,000 elementary school students to connect to our natural world. TWENTY THOUSAND! What this insanely talented and dedicated group of creative and passionate administrators and educators have put together and managed to accomplish has been nothing short of incredible. Needless to say, Superswell VR cannot be prouder and more humbled to be working with ECO.
Our co-founder, Wasim Muklashy, was fortunate enough to be asked to join their board in an explicit effort to help shepherd the future of our future ecologists, biologists, environmentalists, conservationists, and sustainability advocates. In addition to photographing some of their events and activities, ECO has enlisted Superswell VR to create a few short 360 virtual reality video experiences to help people understand the work that they have been doing.
So, for an idea of what they do, here's a small peek into Ecology in Classrooms & Outdoors - for the first time, through the magic of 360 video and virtual reality, you can join ECO in the classroom where the student scientists learn about invasive species and organic and inorganic matter, as well as on a service learning project with Friends of Trees, where the student scientists get to see in person and put into action what they learned in while helping plant non-invasive trees in a local park.
To learn more about ECO and what they're doing, check out www.EcologyOutdoors.org
