BAINBRIDGE – Students at Bainbridge-Guilford Central High School are learning to “think green.” The school's environmental issues class has students participating in a variety of activities and has gone on a few field trips to learn about, understand and help the environment since the beginning of the semester.
“We had a presenter, Detective Shackelton from (Department of Environmental Protection), that explained about the reservoirs and the importance of them to the people in (New York City),” said B-G student Amber Giles. “Mr. Shackelton also explained the role of the DEP police officers, historically and currently.”
With the increased demand for awareness and sensitivity about the environment and environmental challenges, schools across the country are including more curriculum that emphasizes knowledge and understanding about the environment and what environmental challenges lay ahead for future generations.
In an exercise identifying environmental awareness in popular culture, students in the B-G class (grades 9-12) watched movies such as “Wall-e” and the Dr. Suess' classic “The Lorax,” which asseverates the importance of recycling and planting trees, and discussed the positive impact these activities can have on the environment. “Learning that picking up litter and recycling bottles is a good thing,” said Giles.
Giles added, “Our class headed out onto the streets of Bainbridge and helped pick up litter from the ground. To me, the trip was fun, hanging out and helping the environment with friends.”
To help keep the students motivated, the class engaged in some friendly competition while collecting litter from the village streets by dividing into a set of two groups. The group that filled their bags with the greatest amount of litter won.
On another field trip activity, students went to the Susquehanna River to take water for simple analysis. “Using the microscopes, we looked for certain types of micro plankton,” said Giles. “Depending on which types are present in the water can determine if the rivers' water is healthy. Though there weren’t very many microscopic organisms in the water, the pH level of the water was at seven, meaning it wasn’t too acidic or basic,” Giles said.
Giles also noted the river water in Bainbridge is actually healthy and there isn’t much litter covering the town.
On a field trip to Baker’s Maple, the class learned the importance of trees and how the sap they produce can be turned into delicious, sugary treats. Business owner Reed Baker took students on a tour of the production facility and explained the process of “sugaring.”
“Trees not only produce edible foods, but also help create oxygen and take in some of the carbon dioxide that we put into the air,” Explained Giles.
“So far, I believe we have learned how important it is to take care of the environment and why we should take care of the place we have,” said Giles. “It’s the one and only place we have and we need to make sure it is healthy enough for future generations to survive.”