Turning bug infestations into an experiment

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
– Albert Einstein

As many of you know, my background is environmental science. My pre-FHC career was as a researcher in the field. The scientific method has always been something I use in my work.

As you can see in the photo above, I make sure that it’s prominent for all of Felege Hiywot’s programs, too! I believe it applies to far more than just traditional experiments. I try to carry it over into all aspects of my life. Something didn’t go as planned? Well, let me make a note of it and readjust my assumptions for next time.

Last summer, our students encountered an unexpected bug infestation. Instead of us looking at it as what went wrong, we looked at why it happened that way. The Scientific Method doesn’t say, “Whoops, YOU made a mistake!” Instead it gives a framework to look at why things happened and adjust in the future. We turned it into a lesson on bugs! It is all about discovery and lifelong learning.

Before we start any project, we think through the Scientific Method. Every lesson, every program becomes an exercise on scientific theory. If there’s a question or issue, create your own hypothesis. Once we’ve done that, it becomes a starting point for every conversation.

“What are you going to do and how are you going to do it?”

We carry this through any problems that arise and at the end of a project when we’re looking back. We ask, “What went well and what do we need to improve?”

In this framework, nobody fails. Nobody is blamed for mistakes. The Scientific Method allows us to say:

“Today, we learned something new.”

The starter plants are ready to see our students! We have spent time preparing the soil, checking in on our plants, and doing more clean-up with our volunteers. We were so excited to welcome over 80 students from the Oak Hall Academy who came and helped prepare our beds. Earlier this month, the Marion County Farm Bureau came and toured FHC in preparation for our summer program partnership. We are so excited to continue our work with them! Everything is progressing as it should in order for this to be a successful, abundant summer.