- FWS photo

In these times of computers and electronic games it is increasingly difficult to get children to embrace science and nature.  Yet, forty-eight second graders from Frost Lake School in St. Paul enthusiastically participated in hands-on experiments and activities that taught them plant science despite some language barriers created by >50% of the students recognizing English as a second language.

Between the months of February and April, Twin Cities Ecological Service Field Office (TCFO) staff biologists Laurie Fairchild and Annette Trowbridge teamed with two Frost Lake elementary school teachers through an opportunity provided by theSt. Paul Public School's Common X-change program.  Over the course of four classroom science lessons, the teachers and TCFO biologists co-planned and taught topics ranging from plant adaptation characteristics to photosynthesis.  Students conducted experiments demonstrating the ability of soils to retain water, life cycles of plants, how plants grow and change and characteristics of plants that help them survive in various environments.  In addition, students measured, weighed, and recorded the life of their plnats using the data to answer questions about their life history.

The program was a wonderful opportunity for U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologists to reach students and instill an appreciation for science and the environment at an early age.