Quad Packaging: educating our community
Pine View partnership makes environmental education more accessible for Milwaukee-area students.
Drawn together by common interests and values, Quad has partnered with Pine View Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center for 12 years to promote environmental literacy and stewardship among school-age children.
“Our efforts promote action-oriented activities for kids of all ages to become responsible citizens and aware of the causal relationships between these activities and their impact on this Earth,” says Pine View Executive Director Jeannie Lord.
The expansion of the partnership between Quad and Pine View includes a growing focus on Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), with accessibility a top priority. “One part of our mission with these educational modules was to be more accessible, to reach more students, to reach more communities and to make the environment a bigger conversation,” says Pine View Educational Developer and Outreach Coordinator Zoe Lord.
With many students confined to their homes during the pandemic, Pine View began developing at-home learning modules — including one for each season — with activities and games designed to educate students on what’s in their own backyard. These “Trees Are Treasures” educational modules were created to be easy for caregivers to facilitate and are designed to meet students where they are — whether they live in cities, suburbs, or rural settings. Also, understanding that some students lack access to reliable internet, Quad Packaging volunteered their time and resources to design and print these take-home modules, which Pine View distributed.
“The intentionality of it was really important,” says Megan VanBlaricum, Educational Developer and Outreach Coordinator at Pine View. “We prioritized the needs of our students and what they have available to them.”
The first set of modules involves observation, investigation, critical thinking and communication skills to teach students about themselves and the environment, as well as their impact on it. These truly interdisciplinary kits, which were road-tested by Quad’s Working Parents business resource group (BRG) members and their families, are now being distributed to Milwaukee-area libraries, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and among rural communities. The next round of modules is in development and will take a broader view of the environment, with a focus on community.
