Getting an authentic ecosystem lesson

Woodmere Middle School has an exciting new addition to its courtyard as the entire sixth grade class helped to build a 10 by 15 foot coy fishpond on Oct. 7 that students can conduct experiments on and maintain throughout their school years.

AquaFX by Island Land Care, a landscaping company based out of Mt. Sinai, is a member of the nonprofit program, Ponds for Kids, which helps students design and build aquatic ecosystems for their school.

Jeffery Ingrassia, owner of AquaFX, said the pond was built in one day with help from the students. “The kids are great and they have a place to call their own,” he said. “They clean it, maintain it, watch the fish grow and check the temperature.”

Sixth graders Haley Patel, Andrew Schornstein, Nick Marino and Justin Fliegel were excited to be apart of building the pond. “I’m happy because we’re able to build an ecosystem and put animals in their environment,” Schornstein said. “I’m proud that I helped do it and I hope future generations get to be apart of it.”

Fliegel said he’s excited to learn more about the pond. “Later in the year we’re going to learn more about it,” he said. “We worked so hard on the pond and everyone can see how hard we worked.”

Scott Zanville, a science teacher and former chairperson of the science department, said the idea for the pond started a few years ago when he heard about the Ponds for Kids program. “I wanted the kids to have hands on experience,” he said. “For the ecology part of the curriculum, I wanted to get the kids outside doing real experiments and getting their hands dirty.”

Zanville said the process to get the pond installed took a lot of meetings, proposals and time. “It’s nice to see the pond actually here,” he said overlooking the student’s progress. “It’s very rewarding and it’s great to have a real life functioning ecosystem instead of just reading about them.”

In addition to using the pond for science experiments, Zanville said the plan is to develop the courtyard for interdisciplinary use such as English classes coming outside to write poetry and art classes drawing pictures of the pond.

The Robert Faller Foundation, a charity created in memory of the Woodmere Middle School student who was killed in a helicopter crash in 1994, funded the pond project.

Michelle Allen, a sixth grade social studies and English teacher, said Hewlett-Woodmere celebrates hands on, authentic learning. “It’s very exciting for the kids and I enjoy watching them problem solve and work together to build the pond,” she said. “It makes me smile and I don’t think it gets more authentic than this.”

For more information about the Ponds for Kids program, visit www.waterfallsandponds.com or call AquaFX at (631) 473-2310.