Kent School’s 3rd grade has been chosen to participate in a unique classroom activity and field experience because of their involvement with the Terrapins in the Classroom program and a strong Environmental Education curriculum.
A Nature of Learning grant will fund the National Aquarium staff to visit Kent School and engage students in a hands – on classroom program focused on the effects of climate change on the Chesapeake Bay by looking at the impact of sea level rise on the Northern diamondback terrapin. In addition, the National Aquarium has partnered with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to provide an opportunity for a day in May of outdoor activities at the Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge.
This will be the fifth year that the 3rd grade class at Kent School has performed a service project at the refuge. Last year’s class planted approximately 1,200 spartina plugs on the western side of the island. It is hoped that these grasses will help to prevent erosion and protect the beach area that is so important for terrapin nesting habitat.
Dave says
Payton, Lisa and Annabelle are all in 4th grade, not 3rd.
Pam Deringer says
I feel a need to clarify the confusion over the picture of 4th grade students used to illustrate the 3rd grade connection to the Terrapins in the Classrooms project with the National Aquarium. Many of the projects and much of the environmental education curriculum spirals between 3rd and 4th grades leading to some overlap. Third graders maintain a 1400 sq ft native garden on campus, giving them a responsibility to care for and provide habitat for wildlife, in particular butterflies. In an effort to extend this stewardship into the broader community, service projects at East Neck Island have become an annual field experience for the 3rd grade. The National Aquarium, through a grant with NOAA, funds the staff and plant material for restoration projects involving school age children. For the last two years this project has been connected with a larger, longitudinal study of the population dynamics of the diamondback terrapins on Poplar Island. The 4th grade class has been involved in the terrapin head-starting program for seven years. Students care for and track the growth of a terrapin hatchling from Poplar Island, submitting data to Dr. Roosenberg of Ohio University. Classroom study of the history of Poplar Island and a closer look at the impressive restoration project in progress on Poplar Island are part of an intensive, year-long Chesapeake Bay Studies program. This particular project culminates in a trip out to the island for a tour of the site and to release the hatchling to its natal nesting site. I invite anyone interested in learning more about the environmental education programs at Kent School to contact me via e-mail at [email protected].