On February 4th, 2026 Spanish II, AP Spanish, and College Prep English 10 went to the Franklin Park Conservatory.  At the conservatory students had the opportunity to photograph biomes, plant life, and flowers.  They were also exposed to two artists, Lance Johnson, a local Ohionan artist that specializes in creating art with words, graffiti, and pieces of the areas in which he lived.  They also were able to see pieces from Dale Chihuly, whose expertise is making glass sculptures that magnify the beauty within nature.   During our visit to the conservatory, students completed a handout on how they “experience” nature, connect those experiences to the readings/authors, and took multiple of artist works and elements of nature that moved them (as the authors’ were moved by nature!).Following the visit, students used their observations from the field trip to produce a creative reflection in College Prep English 10, mimicking the styles of Thoreau and Emerson. In AP Spanish students used the work from Lance Johnson as an artist from the United States to compare to Pablo Picasso when discussing the influence of art to tell a historical story.  In Spanish II students created a multiple media presentation incorporating the photos of art and plant life to discuss the importance of conservation and repurposing.  Typically, students produce a traditional analytical essay or generic presentation about conservation and nature; this opportunity allows for a more authentic approach of allowing students to critically reflect on an experience, while also engaging with the texts, art and nature.