As the school year comes to an end, so does our work on our school nature trail. The weather finally cooperated enough so that we could really get outside and create the nature trail! Our sixth grade students spent many class periods outside planning, clearing, raking, moving brush, and learning about the woods around our Read More
Students Engaging in the Nature of Maine
Many middle school classrooms and programs across the state were awarded “Engaging Maine Middle School Students in the Nature of Maine” grants from the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Hear from the students and teachers about their creative and exciting projects designed to explore, understand, and protect Maine's environment.
Bonding with Brook Trout at Windham Middle School
It was a bittersweet day on May 6th when we released our brook trout into the Pleasant River. The brook trout that we had cared for and raised for the past four months were ready for life on their own. First, the tank was at the expected temperature of 11 and the trout were at Read More
Buzzing with Excitement about Bees at Windham Middle School
Windham Middle School is buzzing with excitement as students start working on an on-campus bee sanctuary. A few weeks ago, we had a landscaping expert from the Roosevelt Trail Garden Center come in to share how landscapers plan pollinator gardens. Hannah, our expert, shared the needs of native and invasive bee species, the benefits of Read More
Messalonskee Students Plant and ID Trees
After patiently waiting for “leaf out” this spring, Mrs. Ripa took her Block 2 science class outside to the Messalonskee Trails. Students used the ID cards they had created in the fall to find a reference specimen to document with our new camera, looking for distinguishing characteristics that we had learned about from our district Read More
St. George School: All Things Alewives!
Since our last update, a huge milestone was met; our digital salinity probe was put in the marsh! It now is busy collecting temperature and salinity data. From this, we got to look at the first several weeks of data in comparison to the spring tides of May. We are wondering if the salinity that Read More
Talking about Trout: An Update from Mahoney Middle School
A couple of weeks ago, our science teacher, Ms. Pitt, and our class decided to check on the trout. Although at first glance everything seemed normal, when we checked the chiller it read 20 degrees Celsius. This was a problem that our class did not anticipate, especially since the trout had been familiar with approximately Read More
Black Bear Bridge Project Update
Finally the snow banks have melted in the woods behind the school! We knew it was time to go out and check the condition of our trail. Four of us, Brandon, Max, Joselyn, and Logan, decided to trek out and take some photos of what we found. As we ventured out, we came across a Read More
Protecting Pushaw Lake: Students Work to Reduce Nonpoint Source Pollution
Just when it looked like the winter had finally ended and the snow was gone for the foreseeable future, we were surprised by six more inches of snow. Fortunately, in the short window that we had with bare ground, we were able to take a look at a few potential worksites for our Nonpoint Source Pollution Read More
St. George School Goes “Digital”
Our research project this spring is an investigation of salinity effects on alewife reproduction in our marsh. Despite state stocking of alewives, a self-sustaining run has not developed. We want to learn what effect spring tides may be creating in the marsh, and whether salinity may be having an effect on alewife eggs or fry. Read More