“Nature is awesome, and I want to learn more about it,” Breen said.
Breen, an environmental law student, founded Inspiring Connections Outdoors at IU, a student group dedicated to educating children in the Bloomington area about environmental science and ?conservation.
“I went to summer camp in northern Wisconsin for 12 summers, and I fell in love with being disconnected from the screens,” Breen said. “With this club my hope is that the same inspiration is sparked in these kids that we’re working with.”
Some of ICOatIU’s environmental science education goals include working with groups such as the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington and providing sessions on the subject to students of all ages throughout the city.
Recently, the group traveled to nearby Lake Lemon so that children from the Boys and Girls Club could go canoeing and hiking, in addition to learning about how lakes are formed and their importance to the environment.
“With the kids, I hope that those who did the environmental education series see the connection between what they learned and what they see outside and that they have fun,” Breen said.
In addition to working with the Boys and Girls Club, ICOatIU has worked with the local chapter of the Sierra Club, a nationwide conservation group.
“We’re connected to all those 50 chapters across the country,” Breen said. “We have support from the Sierra Club’s national office on any issues that we have. It’s a brand that people automatically recognize as being one of the biggest conservation groups in the country.”
To Breen, the word environmentalism means more than just recycling.
“It means better understanding what’s going on in the natural environment. We are not just going into the outdoors, but we’re trying to promote an environmental education,” Breen said.
Breen also said being involved with ICOatIU would help the participating children in the future.
“I think it’s going to help them realize the wonder of nature, that there are things going on in Dunn Woods or in the stand of trees behind their house that a lot of us don’t really recognize,” Breen said. “They’ll be able to experience going canoeing, hiking and caving because they’ve done this environmental education series.”
