While most commutes to school include walking or taking the bus, some South Bristol School students spent a week taking a boat to class.
The school’s fifth and sixth grade students recently spent five days visiting Witch Island, an 18-acre wildlife sanctuary a quarter mile off the coast of South Bristol, getting hands-on learning experience with scientific observations and developing an appreciation for the natural surroundings.
The trip was lead by Sarah Gladu, the director of education and environmental monitoring for the Damariscotta River Association. Gladu approached the school to see if they would be interested in partnering for the trip if she were able to secure the funding.
“We’ve done visits in the past that were an hour or two long, but we thought this weeklong, prolonged exposure to a place with a special identity like Witch Island would help the kids develop an appreciation for their neighborhood,” Gladu said.
The school responded enthusiastically.
“It was an absolute no brainer,” said South Bristol School Principal Scott White. “It was a way we could help the kids understand their immediate surroundings and was just a great learning opportunity.”
Gladu applied for a grant from the Maine Community Foundation she called “Maine Islands for Maine Kids” that would cover the cost of the trip. After she was notified she received the grant this spring, Gladu reached out to Jason Bigonia, the math and science teacher for students in grade 5 to 8 at South Bristol School. Together, the two planned a curriculum for the week that would allow the kids to act like real scientists.
“I wanted the students to know a little more about their town after spending a week on Witch Island.” Bigonia said. “The more time and experience you have with a place, the more likely you are to respect and protect that area.”
Each morning beginning Sept. 21, the students met at school before departing by bus to the South Bristol boat launch. A captain hired by the DRA transported the students to the island in two groups. While one group was on the boat, the other group was reviewing the homework assignment from the night before.
The first day of the week, Gladu educated the students on the importance of making as little of an impact on the natural environment as possible before giving them a tour of the island.
Each day, the students learned about a different part of the wildlife of the island habitat, including the plants, birds, and marine life, as well as the ecological relationships between species.
“I was really impressed with how focused the kids were,” Gladu said. “They really wanted to learn, and it was so enjoyable for me to experience their curiosity.”
The students would then work together in groups to conduct surveys to observe the different species on the island.
“I love seeing the kids dive into science,” Bigonia said. “They were out there identifying all sorts of species and having to think about how species interact. The kids had great questions and they really had to think about relationships in nature.”
In addition to the focus on science, the students also wrote about their daily experiences in a journal provided by the DRA. Bigonia said the students would be taking the observations they wrote about and incorporating them into narrative writing later on.
The school’s arts teachers also journeyed to the island for their classes and used the environment as inspiration. For art class, the students constructed sculptures of ducks from brown seaweed known as bladderwrack, while the music teacher had the students recorded nature sounds on their iPads to create compositions later.
“The teachers were phenomenal,” Gladu said. “Not only were they flexible with the schedule, but they also were able to mesh their classes with what the students were studying here to create a really well-rounded learning experience for the kids.”
As for the kids themselves, they enjoyed the chance to learn in a new environment.
“Everything we got to do out here was really exciting,” said sixth-grader Avery Redonnett. “It was fun to get to do the experiments and explore the island. It was different than having to be in the classroom all day.”
