LEARNING HOW THE WATER COMES AND FLOWS
Pre-school scholars from
Pink Elephant and Roxbury seventh-grade Life Science students are teaming
up this year to learn all about the watershed with a "galoshes-on" approach.
Thanks to a grant from the Catskill Watershed Corporation and the experienced
teaching talents of Bonnie Walker and Frank Bibbo, Pink Elephant and Roxbury
Central School students have a 'water-ful' experiential year-round curriculum
to explore together.
The field trips, in which children explore the watershed ecosystems, flora and fauna (bugs!) and East Branch terrain together, also affords a valuable lesson in mentoring for the secondary school students. In November, the group took a hike together along the Catskill Scenic Trail from the source waters of the Delaware River's East Branch.
The program helps pre-schoolers plunge into the biological sciences at a tender young age as well as having someone older to look up to! This early immersion in Life Science is doubly valuable for the toddlers because their earliest elementary school learning will focus more on math and language skills. Both age groups learn how our Catskills water goes to thirsty New Yorkers, how to be a good steward of our land and water resources, and "leave no trace behind."
They also have fun identifying trees, plants and bugs together. Trips later in the school year will lead these student teams to Lake Wawaka, the Pepacton Reservoir and Downsville Dam and will culminate in a joint Science Fair in May for parents, students and teachers.
Before we can blink, these pre-schoolers will be back in the field again, microscopes and fishnets in hand, leading their own young charges on explorations — that's just the way the river flows!
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