Creative Wellness: Fall Field Trips

Youth programming for special education students from our community.

Special education students stretching together in a circle inside the ACT studio.

Students from Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Rockford, and Wyoming joined us this fall at the ACT Studio! With a focus on our rooftop garden, each group engaged in a two-hour field trip filled with creative movement, visual arts, culinary arts, and gardening.

Back view of a group of special education students drawing at a table in ACT's rooftop garden.

With our summer Art of Gardening class ending early September, the field trip students were able to explore a fully mature garden. Students learned how plants grow, embarked on a scavenger hunt, and harvested items to use in the culinary arts portion of pesto-making! For visual arts, students used printmaking methods inspired by the garden.

The field trips also included a movement session led by longtime Teaching Artist, Laura Armenta, who shared she most enjoyed:

“The spontaneity of the students! I bring a plan of action into the session, but I invite participants to add, or to change ideas...Seeing students respond with joy & positive interactions is always a gift to my heart.”

These visits were special and memorable for students: some had not taken a field trip in nearly two years due to COVID. For ACT, we were happy to see students so excited while giving them the opportunity to explore the arts after being restricted to virtual and classroom learning. At the end of each field trip, students went home with a recipe and garden book curated by the summer Art of Gardening adult class.

Many thanks to Amway & the Wyoming Community Foundation for funding these field trips!