Environmental Education Partnership with UNCW

Graduate students in Dr. Troy Frensley's Environmental Education seminar at UNCW joined us on campus to lead Lower School students in a series of hands-on environmental lessons and experiments. To borrow from one of Karen's EE lessons, our partnership with Dr. Frensley and his students--now in its third year--is a beautiful example of mutual symbiosis: a relationship in which all of us benefit. While our students gain valuable insight into the field of environmental science, Dr. Frensley's students instruct and mentor our younger community of learners. Check out these snapshots below! 

Ocean Pollution with Kindergarten & 1st Grade: Led by Beth Saile and Jordan Davidson, students explored sensory bins filled with model marine animal and water. They added different contaminants to the bin and attempted to clean up the pollutants, realizing how difficult it is to remove pollution once it has been introduced into the ocean. 

Bird Migration with 2nd & 3rd Grade: Led by Allison Faircloth & Maggie Corl, students completed a bird migration obstacle course in which they experienced the many challenges that migratory birds face during their annual migrations. 

Hurricane Hurdles with 5th & 6th Grade: Led by Elizabeth Stratton & Morgan Arant, students discussed all things weather, water, and erosion. They learned learned about the importance of coastal wetlands as buffer zones during high wind events and in rising seas related to climate change.