Hometown waters: Exploring and mapping life in wetlands

Thanks to Cell Signaling and the Beverly Cultural Council (a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency) for sponsoring Hometown Waters in Beverly.

Hometown Waters positions second graders as young wetland scientists; investigating, comparing, and mapping bodies of water within their hometown of Beverly. Each second grade class is invited to participate in a prep visit to the classroom to practice the field protocols, a field visit to Camp Paradise, and will receive one visit from a Kestrel naturalist to the school site to create wetlands maps based on our field data. While onsite at Camp Paradise, students are outfitted with boots, nets, clipboards, and binoculars. They capture, observe, and sketch small creatures, then use their own sketches to identify each. Visiting several types of wetlands, students compare the life in and around each one and document all their findings. Camp Paradise has a mix of wetland types, including one certified and one vernal pool in the process of certification, a large permanent pond, and a freshwater swamp. All of these wetlands support different types of wildlife.

The purpose of this program is to give the students the opportunity to practice field science skills while learning about the many organisms that depend on freshwater wetlands and following the life stages of these organisms. In the process, they will also build place attachment to a public natural area they can continue to visit, and as well as understanding the value of conserving and studying wetlands.

The second graders’ completed maps are displayed each year at the Student Work Showcase at Camp Paradise, a free public event.