Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Environmental group helps make outdoor classroom Pond will be ‘showcase habitat’ for coastal creatures ,Staff Reports
Students at two Beaufort County schools will soon have an outdoor classroom-living room combo to study and share.
The Pamlico-Tar River Foundation has been working to transform a 2-acre stormwater pond at P.S. Jones Middle School and the new John Small Elementary School into a “showcase habitat” for plants and animals of the coastal region, according to PTRF executive director Mary Alsentzer. The effort has been joined by a host of volunteers and agencies involved in both education and conservation, according to a prepared statement from PTRF.
“The pond will provide a unique learning experience for the children and teachers at both of these schools,” Alsentzer said. “We hope that they will enjoy seeing what plant and animal species establish themselves at the pond on their own.”
Helping provide that educational experience is one of the missions of PTRF, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the Pamlico-Tar River basin.
The Washington schools’ pond was installed to be a collection point for stormwater coming off the large parking lots and roofs of the two schools. It’s designed to allow sediment and toxins to settle before the stormwater discharges to Cherry Run, a tributary of Tranters Creek.
A $25,000 grant from the Albemarle Pamlico National Estuarine Program and a $2,500 matching grant from Aurora-based PCS Phosphate paid for a walkway and observation deck near the pond and 8,000 water-tolerant plants for the pond. The pond was also stocked with some largemouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish, courtesy of the N.C. Division of Wildlife Resources.
“The plants the volunteers put in and the fish stocked ... are just the beginning of what will become its own ecosystem from which the children can learn for years to come,” Alsentzer said.
The pond will be used as a “demonstration project” for other schools in the region, according to Alsentzer. It will also be used as a hands-on science laboratory for would-be teachers, based on a grant that East Carolina University has received to train them there.
“PTRF volunteers and others worked really hard to get the ... plants in the ground before they dried out,” Alsentzer said. “It was a lot of fun and we can’t wait to see how it will look later this summer, once things have become established.”
The Pamlico-Tar River Foundation has been working to transform a 2-acre stormwater pond at P.S. Jones Middle School and the new John Small Elementary School into a “showcase habitat” for plants and animals of the coastal region, according to PTRF executive director Mary Alsentzer. The effort has been joined by a host of volunteers and agencies involved in both education and conservation, according to a prepared statement from PTRF.
“The pond will provide a unique learning experience for the children and teachers at both of these schools,” Alsentzer said. “We hope that they will enjoy seeing what plant and animal species establish themselves at the pond on their own.”
Helping provide that educational experience is one of the missions of PTRF, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the Pamlico-Tar River basin.
The Washington schools’ pond was installed to be a collection point for stormwater coming off the large parking lots and roofs of the two schools. It’s designed to allow sediment and toxins to settle before the stormwater discharges to Cherry Run, a tributary of Tranters Creek.
A $25,000 grant from the Albemarle Pamlico National Estuarine Program and a $2,500 matching grant from Aurora-based PCS Phosphate paid for a walkway and observation deck near the pond and 8,000 water-tolerant plants for the pond. The pond was also stocked with some largemouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish, courtesy of the N.C. Division of Wildlife Resources.
“The plants the volunteers put in and the fish stocked ... are just the beginning of what will become its own ecosystem from which the children can learn for years to come,” Alsentzer said.
The pond will be used as a “demonstration project” for other schools in the region, according to Alsentzer. It will also be used as a hands-on science laboratory for would-be teachers, based on a grant that East Carolina University has received to train them there.
“PTRF volunteers and others worked really hard to get the ... plants in the ground before they dried out,” Alsentzer said. “It was a lot of fun and we can’t wait to see how it will look later this summer, once things have become established.”
 |
||
| ‘Circle of Friends’ writer comes to Washington, Wolfe to be at Sunflower Books |
