Photo courtesy of Caroline Springfield.
As the culminating activity in the fourth grade science unit titled, “There’s Something Bugging Us,” the students visited Turkey Creek Nature Preserve. Located just 15 miles north of Birmingham, Turkey Creek Nature Preserve was established through a partnership between the state’s Forever Wild Program and the Freshwater Land trust and is co-managed by the Environmental Center at Birmingham Southern. The preserve contains some of the most biologically diverse habitats in the region.
The field trip to Turkey Creek allowed the teachers to cover science standards while letting the students become citizen scientists and do actual field work. The children had the opportunity to collect data that was shared with Alabama Water Watch. The added benefit of field trips such as this is that students are extending their learning outside of the classroom and making connections with the world in which they live. The hope is that students will realize that small things that they can do can have a huge impact not only in their community, but also our state and the world.
– Submitted by Caroline Springfield.
