Village Edu Inspires a New Generation of Environmental Stewards in Montgomery County, MD
Located in Bethesda, Village Edu is Montgomery County’s newest zoo. With over 80 species, Village Edu blends live-animal encounters with hands-on science education to inspire ecological awareness and environmental stewardship among Montgomery County students.
In just a few short months, Village Edu has grown rapidly. They secured their first school contract in September and are now already serving more than a dozen schools across Montgomery County. The organization’s mission is straightforward: to deliver the best possible live-animal educational programs, fully aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. Through interactive lessons with the animals—including reptiles, insects, arachnids, and more—students gain a deeper understanding of ecology, evolution, and conservation.
“By utilizing hands-on interactions with the most incredible creatures from all over the world, we ensure that kids are getting a once in a lifetime experience and remembering the core concepts of what we’re teaching them,” said Village Edu Chief Executive Officer, John Cambridge, Ph.D. “Our team is incredibly creative, energetic, flexible, and well trained. We adapt to the needs of each classroom we enter and ensure that we provide the best possible lessons, incorporating original and custom teaching materials and activities.”
Village Edu is constantly finding new ways to teach kids about ecology. This spring, the zoo will launch a program called Pollinator Patch at several MCPS schools. Participating students will learn about the 130 million-year coevolutionary relationship between pollinators and plants, and how to identify which pollinator-plant partnership has a high likelihood for success. Students collect their own data on pollinator visitations, species richness, and community make up. They use custom, state-of-art 3d renderings of floral morphology to examine everything in closer detail. This program wraps up by assessing the health of the pollinator community around their school and then choosing and planting the specific flowers that would help improve the overall pollinator community health. The following year, students can see if the flowers they planted made a difference.
Village Edu also works with students though it’s Junior Entomologists training program. Recently, the first cohort of students from Chevy Chase Elementary School completed their Junior Entomologists training by demonstrating their understanding of how various ecological principles shape the world around us.
Village Edu was founded in Montgomery County for a reason. “Montgomery County is home to the most incredible school system in the country,” notes Dr. Cambridge. “We have some of the most talented teachers, experienced administrators, and impactful opportunities for our youth. But it takes a village to raise a child properly. So we decided it was the perfect place to begin Village Edu, and we are dedicated to being the most reliable, dependable, and innovative zoo partner our schools can have.”
Additionally, Montgomery County’s emphasis on ecological literacy was a big draw for the zoo. “In Montgomery County, even children at the elementary level can articulate the importance of habitat stewardship,” added Dr. Cambridge. “Every day that we conduct our programs, we get to see the excited, intelligent smiles of students who are eager to learn more about the incredible creatures we share this world with and what we can do to help conserve them. Village Edu is certainly excited to grow and spread to new areas, but there truly could not be a better place than Bethesda to be starting out.”