Working with the Mettawee Community School

By Chris Hubbard, Education Director

Merck Forest’s education team has been busy this school year working with Mettawee Community School teachers to help deliver environmental education to its students. We provided support to individual teachers by helping them bring students out of the classroom and into the natural world to explore the weather and search for evidence of animals in the woods. Our team assisted with the Four Winds environmental education program as well, with our staff leading and delivering lessons to several classrooms as students explored various elements of the Earth. Soil and erosion, clouds, and sunlight were just a few of the topics explored by students as they observed erosion at a riverbank, watched clouds float by, and listened to echoes bounce off the school building.

Fifth graders joined us up on the mountain last fall to participate in our MFFC/NGSS School Partnership Program - exploring the landscape while delving into science during the multi-day program - students dug into leaf litter and scooped amphibians at the pond. Spring brought sixth graders for their MFFC/NGSS exploration, who explored how nutrients cycle through ecosystems and how the availability of natural resources (such as the amount of sunlight) can affect what organisms are found in a given area.

Finally, we launched an Innovation Grant to provide funding for student-driven projects on MCS’s adjoining Merck Forest managed land. Students brainstormed ideas and developed projects they were interested in and some students presented their ideas for consideration for this grant funding. We were happy to award a group funding for their school community garden project and we look forward to seeing their project come to fruition.

While the school year has finished, we’re looking forward to partnering with MCS next fall when students fill the halls again and helping teachers and students continue to explore the great outdoors.