Integrated environmental science class update
In Integrated Environmental Science, students recently completed a multi-day experience immersed in our outdoor forested classroom. Students worked collaboratively to identify the various species of trees present in the Northern Hardwood Forest.
Students will also have the opportunity to teach their peers how to identify a single tree species using important identification characteristics, as well as sharing a song, poem or watercolor painting.
In the future, students will combine their observations with the long-term monitoring data from our AP Environmental Science class to calculate the Simpson’s Index as one way to measure biodiversity. The study of our forest includes opportunities to develop an increased appreciation for the natural landscape and to discuss the importance of being a forest steward. Our work also serves as a foundation to understanding the beautiful complexity of old growth forests.
The 9th grade Integrated Environmental Science students also engaged in a unique service learning opportunity as part of the course’s alignment to WUHSMS’s CRAFT program, which connects students, teachers, and community patterns through food and forest systems to empower people to be engaged in place-based solutions. Students helped to remove a fence that was damaged by flooding this past summer and helped to clear the garden in preparation for the installation of lasagna garden beds.