Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology: May 2018

Harvard Forest Schoolyard Teachers, Emilie Cushing and Jana Matthei were honored at this State House ceremony last week. To see the wide range of ways they achieved excellence read the summaries below.

Glen Urquhart School Teacher, Emilie Cushing, shows the rest of us what is like to put one’s beliefs into action and to back it up with science. She doesn’t just like to tell her students or peers about the importance of understanding and protecting the environment. She shows them how to get boots on the ground in the schoolyard and the local community measuring, observing, recording data, interpreting GIS maps, etc. Her audience is not only her science students at Glen Urquhart School in Beverly but also teachers from the North Shore, Massachusetts, and throughout New England.

Here are some examples of how Emilie uses local resources and partnership to engage both students and other teachers in active citizen science projects.

Birds in Our Backyard... Emilie leads her students in monitoring 2 areas of their choosing around campus...one they feel is good habitat for either food, water, or shelter for birds, and one they feel is poor. They document the number of birds seen in each area every week, and the species seen. They started in January, and will continue for the rest of the year. Emilie hopes to tie this into a recent report done by Mass Audubon documenting bird species projected to be impacted by climate change (one being the chickadee, which they see and hear a lot of!)

Salt Sleuths... Emilie designed this investigation to determine if salt levels in the small pond (that's close to the road) behind their school go up after a rainy winter storm (when roads have been salted). They did an initial survey, looking at macroinvertebrates living in the pond, as well as determining salt level using a refractometer, and dissolved oxygen content. They measured levels after the first rainy storm, and will do one more measurement. They hope to tie into what Beverly could do to reduce the amount of salt used, or any alternatives.

MITS- North Shore Region One-Week Institute for Grades 3-8 Educators; Investigating Ecosystems and Assessing Human Impact

Emilie is cohosting this 1 week Summer Institute through the Museum Institute for Teaching Science (MITS) with Liz Duff of Mass. Audubon.

Collaborators: Mass Audubon’s Endicott Sanctuary; Glen Urqhart School ; Plum Island Ecosystems LTER; Harvard Forest LTER. They invite teachers to join them to learn: How are humans helping or harming local habitats? Explore ways to investigate this question in your own schoolyard, and in the world around you. Support your students’ active involvement in achieving a positive impact through citizen-science projects that will have them collecting real, local data that can be used by scientists.

Our Changing Forests: Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology, Harvard University

Emilie’s work leading the Our Changing Forests project was featured in an article in North Shore Magazine, highlighting the wonderful Schoolyard Ecology work we’ve made possible at a middle school in Beverly, Mass.: http://www.nshoremag.com/September-2016/student-scientists/. Emilie has also presented at 2 of Harvard Forest Spring Workshops for Teachers in order to teach other teachers how to best integrate environmental projects into Middle School curriculum. See some of what she has shared on the web below. Currently Emilie is one of 3 teachers participating in a mini grant through Harvard Forest to develop a curriculum unit using a series of GIS maps of her schoolyard and the town of Beverly to understand how land in Beverly has changed over time. The intention of this work is to get students to see how past choices humans have made in how they use land has impacted the way that the town looks and functions now. They will place a strong focus on how forest cover has changed on these maps and discuss what choices the town can make currently and in the future for the greatest good. In this way, students will be able to make the conceptual link from a 10x10 meter ecology plot study to the civic responsibility of how we manage the environment around us at the town scale.

"Connecting Students and Disciplines through Real Science" at the AISNE (Association of Independent Schools in New England) Conference…Not only has Emilie taken a lead in sharing her work with teachers on the North Shore and statewide, she has also shared with teachers throughout New England.

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Notre Dame Academy High School Science Teacher, Jana Matthei, is recognized for her outstanding work both in the classroom and as a mentor for other teachers who strive to provide their students with opportunities to delve deeply into thinking and acting in ways that will improve our natural environment; This is especially important for High School students as they prepare to become decision makers and steward Massachusetts’ earth, sky and waters.

Jana has creatively pulled together a rich mix of active learning experiences for her students. These experiences allow students to be active in planning for energy efficiency and sustainability; being citizen scientists; and performing civic duties. She has gone on to share some of this work with other teachers at teacher workshops, on the internet, and as a MAST Conference Presenter. In this way she is able to reach her science students every year as well as over 100 teachers who in turn can provide similar experiences for hundreds of other students each year.

Below is a brief description of the many ways that Jana weaves together these learning experiences, often leveraging local community resources as an avenue for promoting the program and/or educating students about energy and the environment.

Ms. Matthei’s environmental science classes study energy efficiency and renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. Students complete a multidimensional project about green buildings and sustainable architecture. The students research a green building (LEED certified or living building certified), write a long group paper about the heating systems, water systems, and other "green aspects" of the building, and then build a 3D model of the building. The honors class does a similar project, but apply it to their own home so they have to research a bit about their own house and how energy efficient it is now, and then how they could remodel or upgrade it to be greener.

See an excerpt from the assignment below to get a better sense of what this project involves:

CP Environmental Science Energy Project

Description: For this project, you will work with one or two partners. You have to pick a partner that it will be easy to work with outside of class for some time (at home or after school at school).

Part 1: Study a LEED Platinum certified building or a Net Zero or Living Building with a partner. Read through the information about the building, focusing especially on how the building is energy efficient. You will create a thorough report explaining the building overall with pictures, diagrams, and information in some detail on the “complicated systems” it uses to be so green.

Part 2: Imagine that you are a rich land owner with a bit of an architecture background and are interested in building a green building right here in our area. You build a 3D model of a building design INSPIRED by your case study that you would like to pitch to a local building developer. You can study a house, a commercial building, a school, there are many different kinds of energy efficient buildings. The model should look professional and come with a quick brochure explaining its features (some figures and facts can be borrowed from the original case study report).

Honors Energy Project

Description: There are 2 project options. Choose one.

Option 1: In this scenario a terrible hurricane came through your area and your house, along with a few others in the neighborhood, was destroyed. (note this is VERY unlikely – just need to set the stage for designing a new house). Your parents had insured the house in case of floods and have a decent amount of money from the insurance company. They want to rebuild a house on the same property. Draw up 2 “greener” proposals for them for a new house plan that involves more renewable energy while still being affordable. Each plan should include a plan for electricity, heating and cooling, and hot water. You can consider energy sources and house design based on energy conservation. You can also consider water conservation in the design and other fun green elements. One plan should be more affordable (conservative amount of change) and the other plan should be more expensive, more of a reach, but more green. For both, explain how this new house will be better than your old house (cheaper in the long run and/or better for the environment) and explain some basic information about differences in costs between the 2 new proposals.

Basically required for each proposal (2 total):

 *New house design* (can include some pre-made inspirations but should include your own final draft – it can be hand drawn) FOCUS CONTENT VISUALLY

 Electricity, heating and cooling, and hot water plans (include energy sources and infrastructure)

 One should be “safer” with lower initial costs and “less green”

 One should be “edgier” with higher initial costs and VERY GREEN

Final comparison: *Weigh the pros and cons between the 2 options, consider cost and impact an

*New house design* (can include some pre-made inspirations but should include your own final draft – it can be hand drawn) FOCUS CONTENT VISUALLY

 Electricity, heating and cooling, and hot water plans (include energy sources and infrastructure)

 One should be “safer” with lower initial costs and “less green”

 One should be “edgier” with higher initial costs and VERY GREEN

Final comparison: *Weigh the pros and cons between the 2 options, consider cost and impact and in general how either is “better” than the old house* FOCUS CONTENT in SUMMARY TABLE(S)

Formatting: include text, tables, and pictures in your final format. Include a diagram of the house for each.

Option 2: In this scenario your house is intact and well, but you are looking to make some green updates. Your parents have some money to invest but they want to see a return on investment at some point (make their invested money back in energy savings). In order to do this, you really need to understand how your house uses energy currently. Research this and begin the report with the current state of things at your house. Draw up a “greener” proposal for them for housing renovations that involves more renewable energy while still being affordable. Consider electricity, heating and cooling, and hot water. You can also consider water conservation in this design and other fun green elements. You should not be destroying a lot of your house for this proposal, but you can alter it, replace utility appliances, or add to the house. Explain how this modified house will be better than your old house (cheaper in the long run and/or better for the environment) using clear numbers to explain the current costs for electricity, heat, and hot water and comparing them to the future costs. Calculate the return on investment in new water boilers, furnaces, or electricity generating investments (plan to install at least one major investment and describe how long it will take to pay back the investments based on energy savings – and when you will start to actually make money).

Basically required for the proposal:

 BASELINE - The current state of electricity, heating and cooling, and hot water generation at your house. Include what energy sources you use and how new the utility appliances are.

 PLAN - Explain the new electricity, heating and cooling, and hot water plans (include energy sources and infrastructure) in comparison to the old ones. OLD/NEW COMPARISON USE A SUMMARY TABLE. Include at least 2 new boiler, furnace, or other large investment plans (include a picture and hyperlink to an actual model on the market right now)

 Include return on investment (ROI) analysis (or analyses you can break it up by investment) that clearly compares costs to current costs at your house, describing the initial costs for at least 2 large investments in the green plan, and then overall how long it will take to pay them off and start making money compared to before. FOCUS ON DETAILED ROI for 2 INVESTMENTS USING TABLE(S).

Students in Jana’s classes participate in a Vernal Pool Project each spring combining field study and civic action. Students visit a vernal pool 2-4 times over the course of the spring (March - May) and observe and collect data ; Activities include: measuring the pool, mapping it, looking for biological evidence that would help officially certify it through the state of Massachusetts. They usually use the obligate species method to certify pools that are not yet protected (potential vernal pools). This means they are looking for breeding evidence of species that only breed in vernal pools (spotted salamanders, wood frogs) or any evidence of fairy shrimp, who only live in vernal pools. They also make sure there is no permanent inlet or outlet, and that the pool dries up over time (ensuring that there are no fish, and it truly is vernal). Students present their research as a class in a presentation to the town conservation commission for the town where the pool is located (Norwell or Hingham). The class submits all of their evidence to the state to apply for official certification of the pool. Typically in Massachusetts this means it gets protected for an extra 50 feet out from its edges compared to other wetland areas (wetlands - 50 feet of protection buffer; vernal pools - 100 feet of protection buffer). In Jana’s 5 year tenure at Notre Dame Academy (NDA), they have officially certified 6 pools (3 are in process, being reviewed by the state). This project does not require funding.

Ms. Matthei’s students participate in the Buds, Leaves and Global Warming field science project in collaboration with Harvard Forest, Harvard University. Students observe and measure tree buds and leaves in order to track the length of the growing season for trees in their Schoolyard. Students collect data each spring and fall. Jana contributes project data each season to the region-wide study involving over 1,000 students each year. Harvard manages the database for the network of over 50 schools and regularly hosts teacher workshops which bring together scientists and teachers to enhance professional development and support teachers in continuing to build depth and breadth to the learning experiences for students in the Schoolyard and classroom. Jana has contributed 8 years of data to the online database and has shared her work with a broader audience at the Mass. Assoc. of Science Teachers (MAST) conference. Given that this program is a long term project run through Harvard Forest, this will expect to continue indefinitely.

All of these educational experiences nurture civic responsibility. Students get to practice making decisions on what features contribute to sustainable design of homes and public buildings which give them a foundation for making decisions about what kind of home to build or purchase and what kind of public buildings are suitable for their local communities and beyond. Students become directly part of local and state government in pursuing certification of a vernal pool. This experience will undoubtedly empower them to be active agents in civic activity in the future. The Buds and Leaves project allows students to understand what role Carbon plays in Global Warming and how that impacts our trees locally. Students can then better understand how decisions about whether to plant trees or keep forests intact in their local landscape impact air quality and overall sustainability which will presumably impact personal and civic actions they will take as adults.