Clarification to Headline — Sixth-graders from Union 29, including Poland Community, Elm Street and Minot Consolidated schools along with teachers and parent volunteers recently studied coastal ecosystems at Ferry Beach Ecology School in Saco. An earlier version of this headline on the Web and on Friday’s B3 of the City edition did not name all the schools participating.

Sixth-grade classes from Union 29 schools spent four days studying coastal ecosystems at Ferry Beach Ecology School in Saco.

Poland sixth-graders study ecology on coast

POLAND – The sixth-grade classes from the schools in Union 29, Poland, Minot and Mechanic Falls, spent four days and three nights recently studying coastal ecosystems at Ferry Beach Ecology School in Saco.

The program teaches students about natural ecosystems and how humans can impact those environments. The site includes seven miles of sand beach, a coastal forest, state park, organic garden, salt marsh, fishing village and access to the Saco River. The students also visited the rocky shore where they participated in a hands-on, scientific study of the tide pool ecosystems.

The students were divided into small groups of approximately 10 students and assigned a naturalist who was their group teacher. Each day consisted of several lessons based on studying the interactions of living and non-living things in coastal ecosystems.

The Ferry Beach curriculum is designed to be sequential. Concepts like nutrient cycling, resource availability, animal and plant adaptation and habitat are studied and compared in each ecosystem.

Songs and skits in the dining hall helped to incorporate ecology into all aspects of the experience. In addition to academics, the students were able to spend their recreation time on the beach or on the playing fields forming friendships with students from the other towns.

They also participated in aspects of community living, such as sharing bunkrooms with their friends, helping to serve family-style meals and cleaning common dorm areas.

Students participated in an Ecology Carnival Night filled with fun and games created by the students on their last evening. The games highlighted the concepts and plants and animals the students had studied.

Ferry Beach Ecology School is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to helping public and private schools educate students about science and the environment through hands-on exploration of local eco-systems.

Students were accompanied by teachers from their schools: Poland Community School, Gail Poirier, Kathy Wolfson and Sharon Plant; Elm Street School, Dottie Barton, Chris Frazier, Karen Downing and Carol Lundberg; and Minot Consolidated School, Jen French and Kim Bossie; plus parent volunteers.

The students received a visit from Union 29’s new superintendent Dennis Duquette, and all three building principals: Mary Martin, Margaret Pitts and Ayesha Davis.