The Wrack

We are putting teachers on the estuary again this summer by offering a free workshop that will give educators data-driven climate change activities to bring back to their classes. The workshop will train up to ten educators in reserve-style environmental monitoring, "coastal blue carbon" concepts, and ways to understand and address climate change.

"We have the opportunity to re-invent the world." That was a final thought from one participant at the end of last week's Teachers on the Estuary (TOTE) workshop here at the Reserve. After four busy days of guest speakers, hands-on activities, and visits to field research sites, the eight middle and high school educators hailing from states along the east coast from Maine to Florida shared their ideas for i…

Year 4 of the popular teacher training program.

Nearly four months after their Teachers on the Estuary (TOTE) II summer workshop at the Wells Reserve, eight middle and high school teachers from New England reunited for an exciting day of professional development and comradery. In the morning, the group reconvened at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Falmouth, MA, where they reported on their student-driven stewardship project progress. This team of TOTE II teachers is a truly inspirational bunch. They are fostering a sense of stewardship in their students while getting outside and teaching with a systems-based approach. Their students are becoming agents of change within their watersheds and local communities.

On Thursday, the Reserve's education staff hosted eight teachers from Kennebunk's Cocoons Day School for a full day workshop. The group enjoyed a beautiful October day while exploring the Discovery Program's booklets and backpacks on the trails, experiencing the "Time Travels" treasure hunt on campus, and investigating the intertidal zone at Laudholm Beach.

Teachers also learned about the Reserve's grades K-2 Wild Friend in Wild Places field trip offering, as well as the education kit rentals that provide hands-on classroom learning about trees, estuaries, birds, and mammals. At the end of the day, Paige led the group on a history tour through the barn and farmhouse, sharing the Changing Landscapes exhibits along the way.

Much fun was had by all, and the Reserve is looking forward to seeing Cocoons Day School teachers back on site with their students very soon!

Last week, the Reserve hosted twelve middle and high school teachers from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and Louisiana for Teachers on the Estuary (TOTE) II, a field-based workshop focused on estuary and watershed education. This is the third TOTE workshop held at the Reserve, but unlike the first two, this year's TOTE was only open to teachers who had already participated in a New England TOTE workshop at either the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR), the Waquoit Bay NERR in Massachusetts, or the Narragansett Bay NERR in Rhode Island.

David Word is an 11th and 12th grade AP biology and environmental science teacher at St. Francis High School in Louisville, Kentucky. Thanks to his participation in Teachers on the Estuary last summer he has been very busy with his students this year, removing invasive species within a 200 square foot area of riparian forest along the Beargrass Creek. Species of invasives within the plot included Bush Honeysuckle, English Ivy, and Winter Creeper.

After the removal, the group planted 70 native plants within the same area. Native species planted include: Great Blue Lobelia, Joe Pye Weed, Mistflower, Thimbleweed, Slender Mountain Mint, Wild Geranium, and Jack in the Pulpit.

In July, fifteen middle and high school teachers from seven different states participated in the Teachers on the Estuary (TOTE) four-day field-based workshop at the Reserve. Since then, they have been teaching their students about estuaries and watersheds, while also implementing student-driven stewardship projects. On Saturday, the more local contingency of this TOTE group (and one teacher skyping from Kentucky!) met at the Reserve for a follow-up session. The teachers shared information about their stewardship projects, which are very impressive!

Teacher Edward Tivnan chose trout rearing as his Teachers on the Estuary (TOTE) classroom project. Eggs were delivered to Notre Dame High School (Lawrence, Massachusetts) in November and his students got a lot of hands-on learning over subsequent months. The fish were later released into a local trout stream.

Read a newspaper article about the project

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