Elementary students take part in environmental day
POLAND – Around 250 elementary students from five area schools took part Tuesday in a day of environmental work and play at Agassiz Village Campground.
Under warm blue skies at Thompson Lake, students learned about lake erosion control, fly-fishing and bass fishing, bird-watching and that hybrid cars run on electricity.
It was the most ambitious effort to date organized by Sandra Roderick, a teacher at Oxford Elementary School who has won both regional and state awards for her work in teaching children about the importance of conserving the environment.
On hand were representatives from the Androscoggin and Oxford counties soil and water conservation districts, who guided the children in planting buffer plants and placing erosion prevention soil in strategic locations near the shoreline.
Volunteers from the Mollyockett Chapter of Trout Unlimited demonstrated fly-fishing techniques, while others practiced bass fishing using a land bass fishing game supplied by the Hooked on Fishing Not on Drugs program.
Volunteers from the Thompson Lake Environmental Association led the children, who broke into groups of 24 to visit different stations, in discussions about bird-watching and state boating and fishing rules.
The students also got to see four hybrid electric cars from the Department of Environmental Protection and learn about solar power in teaching sessions led by AmeriCorps volunteer Shauna Little.
“It came off really well,” said Roderick, thanks to the beautiful weather and hospitality of Lisa Gillis, Agassiz Village camp coordinator.
“She was absolutely thrilled with what we’ve done,” Roderick said.
This is the second such service learning community project held at the campground. Prior to that, it was held at Pismo Beach on Thompson Lake, but was moved to Agassiz to provide more room, Roderick said.
Participating students were sixth-graders from the Oxford Elementary School, Hebron Elementary School and Madison Avenue School from SAD 17, and five sixth-grade classes from the Crooked River School in Casco, part of SAD 61.
SAD 17 technology specialist Richard McIntosh prepared students to record the events of the day by training them on the use of digital video and still cameras as that can be posted on a Web site.
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