Students from a variety of local schools have the opportunity to participate in an educational forum in which they can learn about the environment and collaborate with each other throughout the 2023-24 school year. Students from Western Wayne, Carbondale Area, Forest City, Lackawanna Trail, Lakeland, Mountain View, Old Forge, Riverside, and Wayne Highlands have already started their journey in this exciting, educational experience.
Each school will have a team of five students and a teacher-advisor. The forum will engage students through place-based educational field experiences and hands-on investigations.
Earlier this month the students involved in the Watershed Program explored the Tunkhannock Creek Watershed as a part of their adventures in environmental studies. The five Western Wayne students who participated in this and will continue to learn from it throughout the school year include: Audrey Agnello, sophomore; Abigail Bell, freshman; Ryleigh Mahon, senior; Madelyn McClure; freshman; and Sofia Ochlan, freshman.
The girls enjoyed their opening experience with the program. Abigail explained how the students had the opportunity to learn about mushroom fungi, caught fish and identified them, and also learned about trees in the surrounding area during their trip to Tunkhannock Creek.
“I thought it was really interesting how we learned how to put a frog to sleep by rubbing its belly,” Abigail, who is an honor roll student, said when discussing the students’ experiences in the creek learning about the different amphibians that make it their home.
The students’ teacher who is moderating their participation in the program Dr. Mark Nebzydoski explained how the students will use the knowledge they gain from their excursions with the Watershed Program to develop a presentation about environmental issues on their school campus or in their community and this project will then help them serve as stewards of natural resources.
“The students have already started to work on developing notes from their experiences with the program to guide them towards their culmination project,” he explained.
Nebzydoski explained how Western Wayne had participated in this program in the distant past and are now very eager this year to be able to have this experience again with a new generation of students. The students will continue their learning experiences in November, January, March, April, and May, with their culminating project presentations scheduled for the end of May. The projects are called MWEE stewardship projects and they address the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and PA Science and Environmental Standards.
“I’m looking forward to more unique experiences in the outdoors to help my understanding of science and the environment,” Abigail Bell, freshman Western Wayne program participant, said.
