Pictured: Fire Island sixth graders and faculty participated in A Day in the Life on Sept. 29.
Photos courtesy of the Fire Island School District
Woodhull Elementary School sixth grade students braved the rain on Sept. 29 to continue their annual contributions to the outdoor cooperative science event known as A Day in the Life. Spearheaded by classroom teacher Gaby Donovan and Eastern Suffolk BOCES Model Schools technology coach Deborah Gerken, all of the participating students were well-prepared for the tasks at hand.
Students were required to test for pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates and phosphorous and conducted biodiversity inventories through a series of seining activities. Seining activities employ the use of nets, called a seine. They also analyzed sediment cores to ascertain the presence of other materials, such as clay, bivalve shells and macroinvertebrates. It was all hands-on-deck as bus driver and local marine expert Brian Romeyk jumped in to assist in seining to discover aquatic life.
The ongoing citizen science project is now in its seventh year. Woodhull Elementary School students are part of a larger group that includes both Bay Shore and Longwood school districts. All three districts conduct their tests on the same day at different locations with a shared mission – to gather essential data on the physical and chemical characteristics of the Great South Bay.
Woodhull Elementary School is grateful for their teachers for providing hands-on learning experiences to the students. With the school situated so close to the bay and the ocean, immersing the students in environmental education helps further their understanding that the beaches and waterways in their backyards are sensitive ecosystems that will be theirs to help preserve now and into the future.
Recent Comments