STRUCTURES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING
1. TREE ID USING "leafsnap" AND DESIGN OF TREE IDENTIFICATION TRAIL GUIDE: In Fall 2013, biology (twenty-five 10th graders) and environmental science (around fifty 9th graders) students conducted the first phase of their "Leaves, Buds, and Climate Change" research at the nearby park. In this lesson students learned how to do a field research by conducting a field investigation answering the short-term study question “When will the growing season for trees in our school yard end this autumn?”. The study aims to investigate the effect of climate change on the trees at the park. Students flagged trees in Fall and monitored the end of the growing season. Students were out at the park once a week for the entire Fall of 2013 taking observations about the trees. Students will go back to the park this spring of 2014 to monitor the blooming season. The data collected by the students will be stored for further study. The long term study aims to determine the effect of climate change to the growing season for trees. This educational program will be conducted annually to monitor the buds and leaves of trees to determine if the length of the growing season is changing in relation to the global climate change. The data will be compared to monitor changes and abnormalities. The students keeps the records/data for future study; they too started to draft their design of tree identification trail guide using the apps "leafsnap". The students aim to produce a set of tree identification trail guides that the incoming researchers can use in their study. The trail guide can also be used by any class who would be learning at the park.
2. RAISED-BED VEGETABLE GARDEN: With the assistance of Art teacher, English teacher, and the school custodian; the Green Club, senior students (who may be needing service learning hours), and any interested students will be working after school to install a raised-bed vegetable garden. This project will be a collaborative effort among teachers, students, parents and the community volunteers who would like to help out start a vegetable garden at the courtyard in the week of April 28th. The food grown in this garden will be shared by the school community during the tasting event. The garden will also be used in learning about germination, abiotic factors needed by plants/vegetables. In addition to this, Great Kids farm provided Augusta fells a salad kit. The 10th grade biology students are growing the seeds in class and will be harvesting salad greens which will be shared by the entire class. The produce will also be used by the culinary arts students in their menu preparation.
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3. BUTTERFLY GARDEN: As the biology classes ( about 50 10th graders) start their Ecology unit lessons, they will install a butterfly garden that they will be using in studying ecological relationships and habitats. This project is a major component of the Sustainability Challenge grant awarded to Augusta Fells this school year. In this project, students will grow native plants to attract butterflies and to model ecological relationships and habitat requirements. This project will be started the week of April 7th, 2014.
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4. INDOOR GARDEN: Ms. Wilson and Mr. Herrera's second period biology classes which is composed of around 50 students combined in cooperation with the Green Club (composed of eighteen 9th-11th grade students), set-up an indoor garden in March, 2014. The garden is being maintained and the variety of herbs and vegetables expand as the project progresses. The Green Club monitors the garden after school while the Biology classes work during the school hours. The students transplanted the seedlings (herbs) from Great Kids Farm, students also grow their own vegetable seeds in the classroom. The main goal of this joint project is to improve the air quality in the building. The garden will also serve as a learning center for science classes, where students can conduct their observations and science activities using the garden as a tool for learning the Ecology unit of Biology class. The garden will eventually become a source of edible herbs and vegetables.
5. COMMUNITY GARDEN: Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) classes of Mr. Bennett designed and started a community garden in Spring 2013. There were around 60 students who participated in this project. In this CAD unit students learned how to construct a two dimensional floor plan. To make the assignment worthwhile students were given a real world design challenge where they were expected to create a community garden which would serve as a green space for the neighboring community. Within this space students had the opportunity to plan, create, plant and harvest produce such as tomatoes, green peppers, string beans, and cabbage. In the beginning of the unit, students conducted an onsite visit to measure the area and calculate the square footage of the garden. Upon return to the classroom, students worked in teams to create a floor plan and voted as a class to determine which design is the most practical. The winning design was used to actually layout the garden space. In Spring 2014, new CAD students (around 60 students) will rebuild and regrow the garden following the same process the 2013 CAD students used in their project.
6. DESIGN OF ENERGY BOOK TO SUPPORT INSTRUCTION and ENERGY CONSERVATION FLIER: As part of the grant received from Baltimore Energy Challenge this year, the Green Club plans to design an energy book and energy conservation flier/poster. These are the two projects that the Green Club is working on and is expecting to finish before the end of the school year. Baltimore Energy Challenge staff members visit Augusta Fells every Thursday and implement a 6-week energy curriculum to the Green Club (eighteen 9th-11th students). The energy conservation flier will be multiplied and distributed around the school community. In addition to the flier, the Green Club is in the process of brainstorming ideas about their energy book. The energy book will be designed to teach students about energy conservation. Once completed, the Green Club will produce a class set of the book that can be a useful tool in classroom instruction.