By SHELLEY TERRY - sterry@starbeacon.com
Staff Writer
ASHTABULA —
Thanks to Lakeside Intermediate School’s participation in the Waterways Adventure program, students may do more than play in the water when they go to the beach this summer.
More than 100 sixth-grade students have learned to identify plants, local birds and nesting behaviors, and environmental art through the program.
On Friday morning, they put what they’ve learned to good use as After School Discovery’s Waterway Adventure program hosted its annual Outdoor Learning Day at Walnut Beach. Students walked in the sand, studied the plants and wildlife, as Mother Nature smiled on them with rays of bright sunshine and warm temperatures.
“One group is doing outdoor-inspired art,” said Pat Seymour, executive director of After School Discovery. “Another group is studying phragmites (an invasive species).”
Representatives from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, as well as other local experts, were on hand to guide students.
After three hours of walking, working and studying, the students and school staff enjoyed a picnic lunch under the Walnut Beach pavilions.
Outdoor Learning Day is supported by funds from the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio’s Access to Environmental Education and Millennium Inorganic Chemicals, a Cristal Global Corporation.
Throughout the school year, Mary Petro, sixth-grade science teacher and science director for Waterways Adventure, invited guest speakers to attend her science classes, giving students more in-depth information and encouraging their exploration of environmental issues.
This was the 12th year for the Waterways Adventure program, which has two goals: teach elementary students about environmental science and help them become good stewards of the environment.
Students will talk about their learning experience at the June 13 meeting of the Ashtabula Area City Schools Board of Education.
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