Happenings at WABAN's TREE Program: Caring about our Environment
WABAN's TREE Program, (Teambuilding, Recreation and Environmental Education) has been conducting water quality studies at Bauneg Beg Lake and will be reporting routinely on the results of their educational investigations. Follow along with us to discover what this fascinating ecosystem has to offer! (read more)
Seventh Article in Series
It’s April, and for Emerson School third graders, that means learning about Habitat Ecology at Waban’s TREE (Teambuilding Recreation and Environmental Education) Center. Teachers Cherie Fullerton, Laurie Flannery and Joanie Corwin gathered their students for lessons centered on the characteristics of habitats, the flora and fauna of those habitats and the roles of decomposers, producers and consumers. Indoors at the Wormwood Banquet and Conference Facility, the students visited stations set up with interactive cards and charts and played games such as “Coyotes and Owls” to howl or hoot their answers to true/false questions. True or False: A habitat needs at least 4 things in order to be a suitable habitat: food, shelter, space, and Mt. Dew (False). What gave it away? How about this one: Rain, snow, sleet and hail are examples of biotic factors (False). Biotic factors are living things. Rain, snow, sleet and hail are examples of abiotic factors. OK, one more try: A black bear is considered to be at the top of the food chain in a forest habitat (True). Hoot! Outside, students and teachers utilized the Kennebunk Savings Loop of the trail system to set up a game in which students raced to count and categorize species of flora in sampling quadrants. They found anywhere from just 2 or 3 species in a snowy quadrant all the way up to about 22 species in a quadrant with no snow, which, for April, is normal for the forest habitat surrounding Bauneg Beg Lake. In addition to the hands-on experience with the forest habitat, students learned about other habitats such as the desert, and some of the plants, animals and seasons of each habitat. Emerson Third Grader Tristin Hale counts and recoreds all the different flora species he can find in a sampling quadrant on the Kennebunk Savings Loop of the trails at Waban's TREE Center. Next came a lesson on decomposers, consumers and producers with a chase and tag game to emphasize these concepts. “This is a food chain game. Students better retain concepts when a fun game, combined with physical activity, causes them to repeat terminology and take action based on the attributes of the subject they are learning,” said Cynthia Peedin, Environmental Educator. With the weather warming up, the Emerson third graders really enjoyed their field trip to the TREE Center to spend a couple hours learning about habitats and the animals and plants of the forest. Special Visitor at CDC Right at his busiest time of year, Santa took time to visit the students at the Fraser-Ford Child Development Center at Waban.
It’s April, and for Emerson School third graders, that means learning about Habitat Ecology at Waban’s TREE (Teambuilding Recreation and Environmental Education) Center. Teachers Cherie Fullerton, Laurie Flannery and Joanie Corwin gathered their students for lessons centered on the characteristics of habitats, the flora and fauna of those habitats and the roles of decomposers, producers and consumers.
Indoors at the Wormwood Banquet and Conference Facility, the students visited stations set up with interactive cards and charts and played games such as “Coyotes and Owls” to howl or hoot their answers to true/false questions. True or False: A habitat needs at least 4 things in order to be a suitable habitat: food, shelter, space, and Mt. Dew (False). What gave it away? How about this one: Rain, snow, sleet and hail are examples of biotic factors (False). Biotic factors are living things. Rain, snow, sleet and hail are examples of abiotic factors. OK, one more try: A black bear is considered to be at the top of the food chain in a forest habitat (True). Hoot! Outside, students and teachers utilized the Kennebunk Savings Loop of the trail system to set up a game in which students raced to count and categorize species of flora in sampling quadrants. They found anywhere from just 2 or 3 species in a snowy quadrant all the way up to about 22 species in a quadrant with no snow, which, for April, is normal for the forest habitat surrounding Bauneg Beg Lake. In addition to the hands-on experience with the forest habitat, students learned about other habitats such as the desert, and some of the plants, animals and seasons of each habitat. Emerson Third Grader Tristin Hale counts and recoreds all the different flora species he can find in a sampling quadrant on the Kennebunk Savings Loop of the trails at Waban's TREE Center. Next came a lesson on decomposers, consumers and producers with a chase and tag game to emphasize these concepts. “This is a food chain game. Students better retain concepts when a fun game, combined with physical activity, causes them to repeat terminology and take action based on the attributes of the subject they are learning,” said Cynthia Peedin, Environmental Educator. With the weather warming up, the Emerson third graders really enjoyed their field trip to the TREE Center to spend a couple hours learning about habitats and the animals and plants of the forest. Special Visitor at CDC Right at his busiest time of year, Santa took time to visit the students at the Fraser-Ford Child Development Center at Waban.
Outside, students and teachers utilized the Kennebunk Savings Loop of the trail system to set up a game in which students raced to count and categorize species of flora in sampling quadrants. They found anywhere from just 2 or 3 species in a snowy quadrant all the way up to about 22 species in a quadrant with no snow, which, for April, is normal for the forest habitat surrounding Bauneg Beg Lake. In addition to the hands-on experience with the forest habitat, students learned about other habitats such as the desert, and some of the plants, animals and seasons of each habitat. Emerson Third Grader Tristin Hale counts and recoreds all the different flora species he can find in a sampling quadrant on the Kennebunk Savings Loop of the trails at Waban's TREE Center. Next came a lesson on decomposers, consumers and producers with a chase and tag game to emphasize these concepts. “This is a food chain game. Students better retain concepts when a fun game, combined with physical activity, causes them to repeat terminology and take action based on the attributes of the subject they are learning,” said Cynthia Peedin, Environmental Educator. With the weather warming up, the Emerson third graders really enjoyed their field trip to the TREE Center to spend a couple hours learning about habitats and the animals and plants of the forest. Special Visitor at CDC Right at his busiest time of year, Santa took time to visit the students at the Fraser-Ford Child Development Center at Waban.
Emerson Third Grader Tristin Hale counts and recoreds all the different flora species he can find in a sampling quadrant on the Kennebunk Savings Loop of the trails at Waban's TREE Center.
Next came a lesson on decomposers, consumers and producers with a chase and tag game to emphasize these concepts. “This is a food chain game. Students better retain concepts when a fun game, combined with physical activity, causes them to repeat terminology and take action based on the attributes of the subject they are learning,” said Cynthia Peedin, Environmental Educator. With the weather warming up, the Emerson third graders really enjoyed their field trip to the TREE Center to spend a couple hours learning about habitats and the animals and plants of the forest. Special Visitor at CDC Right at his busiest time of year, Santa took time to visit the students at the Fraser-Ford Child Development Center at Waban.
Next came a lesson on decomposers, consumers and producers with a chase and tag game to emphasize these concepts. “This is a food chain game. Students better retain concepts when a fun game, combined with physical activity, causes them to repeat terminology and take action based on the attributes of the subject they are learning,” said Cynthia Peedin, Environmental Educator. With the weather warming up, the Emerson third graders really enjoyed their field trip to the TREE Center to spend a couple hours learning about habitats and the animals and plants of the forest.
Special Visitor at CDC Right at his busiest time of year, Santa took time to visit the students at the Fraser-Ford Child Development Center at Waban.