“You see how eroded the banks are,” said eighth-grader Blake Cole. In places where people like to come fishing, the shores of Salmon Lake near Polk County Middle School have been worn to bare red dirt. During a heavy rain, so much soil runs off that the pond turns a dull, muddy orange. Even on this sunny spring day, the green water looks cloudy.
The pond is so close to the school that it took Blake’s class just a few minutes to walk there. They’re happy to be out in the sun, laughing and pulling out English ivy. This hands-on activity – removing an invasive creeper growing on trees near the pond – is part of a larger project in which students are planning the future of natural areas near their school.
Students look at three locations — Laughter Pond, a proposed outdoor classroom, and Little White Oak Mountain, where nearly 1,000 acres of new public land adjoin the middle school. The students worked in groups on suggestions for improving these places to bring more value to their community.
Blake’s teacher, Jeanne Ferran, said her students see this community as encompassing both humans and other living things. For example, the community around the pond includes students, fishermen, families, trees, turtles, beavers, bats, birds, and fish.
All winter they have been reading soil ethics books and even a pond management manual. Finally, in the warmer weather, they explore the pond in person.
“Spring is the ultimate time for them to be part of the renewal – the renewal of the pond,” Ms. Ferran said.
An ugly before picture
Laughter Pond (pronounced Lotter Pond) is a popular fishing spot and some students have taken their grandparents here all their lives. But some parts of the shore are loved to death, worn out by frequent visitors. This will wash away the exposed clay in the rain.
“All that dirt goes in the pond,” Blake said. “When that happens, it clogs the water so that fish swimming around in it are just swimming in the dirt.”
Much of the pond is bordered by grassy banks that are closely mowed rather than offering reeds, shrubs, or trees where wildlife might thrive. And in the nearby woods, English ivy smothers trees while multiflora rose crowds out wildflowers.
Laughing Pond is a place where turtles line up on logs to bask in the sun and students run to see them. But they know that if the pond provided a more diverse, healthier habitat, they could hear more music from migratory songbirds. You might see hawks soaring overhead, spot animals like beavers or muskrats, and watch tadpoles grow into frogs. You might see more spring blooms like trillium and silverbells. The pond could also offer better fishing conditions with clean water. And it could be a place that attracts more people whether they like fishing or not.
“They basically think of Laughter Pond as an ugly ‘before’ picture. Their work is about potential,” Ferran said.
On a jetty overlooking the opaque green water, Blake explains his group’s idea.
“If we introduced native species around the pond, that would help with erosion control. Species that nest in or feed on these plants will also come to this area,” he said. “And it would be really nice to be able to sit here and be like, ‘Oh, there’s a bird I haven’t seen in a long time.'”
Classmate Reggie Owens said, “My group’s suggestions are to add aviary and bat houses specifically designed for North Carolina’s native birds, such as B. Carolina wrens, woodpeckers and cardinals. But the main birdhouses we want to put up are kingfishers. And bat houses can be put up so the bats can hunt at night and get rid of pesky insects like mosquitoes, aphids and anything that might harm the plant life around that pond… Departing from Blake’s idea, native plants could be put up to provide food for the birds that builds a healthy ecosystem.”
“You can change something”
This spring, for the first time after a long break, school feels anything remotely “normal” for these children. Two years ago they were sent home when a deadly pandemic broke out. Some family members got sick. Lost some jobs. Concern and distrust spread. Sports, clubs and friends disappeared from her life.
“COVID has been very hard on everyone for a long time and I think everyone felt really powerless with all the changes that were happening. I think this project makes them feel like they can make a difference,” Ferran said.
The project is led by four teachers – Andrea Walter, who teaches science and social studies in the fifth grade; Ferran, who teaches language arts to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders; Stephanie Luedi, who teaches eighth grade science; and Karen Rhodes, who incorporates this project into her early college English classes. The project is supported by RootED – a local initiative promoting place-based, experiential education with a focus on problem solving.
There are also guest lecturers, including Laura Baird from Polk County Parks, Recreation & Maintenance and Pam Torlina from Conserving Carolina. Laura teaches the children how to work with the local government to make decisions about state-owned land near the school campus. And Pam teaches them topics like native and invasive plants, songbirds, owls, and watersheds.
“I love getting involved with the schools and the kids and teaching the next generation the importance of paying attention to their surroundings,” Torlina said. “Hopefully they’ll learn how things would be better if we were a little more respectful and did our part to make the world a better place.”
“We look at problems as things that can be fixed and use creative ways to solve them,” Ferran said. “My children are very concerned about justice and fairness.”
This project encourages them to think about positive changes that can benefit everyone in their community.
“We can sit here and complain or we can actually do something to make things fairer for our entire community. I think taking on responsibility makes them feel a lot more confident and engaged,” she said.
The students’ ideas include improving the dock so it’s safer for small children and building raised platforms so people can still fish their favorite spots while plants grow at the water’s edge.
Sixth grader Abby Lewis shared more ideas
“We are considering growing milkweed for butterflies and pollinators. And also flowers and native grasses that can be kept at the side of the bench,” she said.
Once they have developed their proposals, the students present their ideas to RootED and Polk County. If successful, they could receive funding and support for their implementation. The children also suggest practical ways they can make a difference, like having school clubs fill bird feeders or removing kudzu.
Outdoor is not just for excursions
Ciera Weathers, a sixth grade student, said: “Usually kids — including me — and stuff whine when they’re trying not to go on a camping trip or a hike. But I plan on making interactive signs that they’ll probably want to participate in. One of my ideas is to tell about the three native owls, the screech owl, the barred owl and the great horned owl.”
Other students suggested signs with QR codes linked to information about catfish, turtles, snakes, beavers, oak trees and mushrooms.
Some interactive signs could be placed along new trails on Little White Oak Mountain where Conserving Carolina protected over 1,000 acres in 2017. Since then, most of this property has become public land. A portion of this has been added to the Green River Game Lands and a portion has been added to a local park associated with the middle school. Students are excited about the 7-10 miles of planned hiking and mountain biking trails. They are full of ideas for cross country racing, sports practice, a mountain bike club, and an outdoor stewardship club. And the walking club doesn’t have to get on a bus every time they want to do an activity.
Likewise, Ferran looks forward to teaching outdoors without jumping through all the hurdles that make field trips so rare.
“It’s really cool to see the school through different eyes,” she said. “Rather than worrying about field trips and trips, we have so much right here in our backyard.”
Your students already appreciate the opportunity to learn outside. When the school closed due to COVID, some had the opportunity to spend more time outdoors – like fishing with their family at Laughter Pond. Now it’s hard to be locked in the school building all day.
“It’s for me too,” Ferran said.
Seventh grader Grayson Meyer said he believes the outdoor classroom will enhance his school experience.
“I think it’s going to be really nice to study because you’re not in a classroom anymore. It’s a change of scenery. When I’m studying outdoors, it doesn’t feel so rigorous. It’s not as painful as regular school,” he said.
Classmate Charlie Wagoner said: “We looked up studies and they showed that learning outdoors increases learning, productivity, understanding of the lesson and that there is more energy. And sometimes, when we’re done with everything, we might just go outside to listen to the birds and just relax.”
Rose Jenkins Lane is the director of communications and marketing at Conserving Carolina.
