by
Jessica Sullivan
Since
we have all experienced a gloomy week, we decided to share some
lovely spring wildflowers to enjoy while you read Jessica’s wrap
up.
A visit to Stonington High School
As
the semester comes to a close, the sophomores of Goodwin-Niering are
finishing up our work with Avalonia. One project that is still in the
works is that of Josh Lee and Phoebe Masterson-Eckart. Phoebe and
Josh are doing a very exciting project that involves reaching out to
local youths to get them interested in Avalonia and invested in land
conservation. The curriculum that they will be presenting to the
students of Stonington High School on May 11th
focuses on invasive species: why they are bad for the environment
that they are invading, and how Avalonia is trying to get rid of
these nasty invasives in order to further preserve the natural land.
Josh and Phoebe explained their project, stating: “Last week we got
to know the students of the Stonington High School Environmental
Studies course, and we helped them plant vegetables, flowers, and
herbs that they had been starting in the greenhouse at the HS. It
provided us with the chance to get a feel for what they already know
and what they find interesting in the field. Hopefully this kind of
thing will be a part of a continued partnership beyond annual
workshops, but extend into field trips or work days, and build a
stronger group of young environmentalists.” It is so important that
today’s youth become involved with land conservation because they
are the people who are going to be taking care of things in the
future, so it is great to see these young minds getting involved
early.
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| Canada Mayflower. |
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| Red Trillium |
Another
cool project is Maya Sutton-Smith’s; She is investigating the
history of the Perry Natural Area. Over the course of the semester,
she has learned a lot about the history of the land and the people
who once lived there and the remnants of which we can still see
today. After our work day at the Perry Natural Area, it was clear
that the area has a rich history based on the presence of old wells,
a cemetery, stone cairns, and even house foundations. Through
research and interviews, Maya has been able to explore this amazing
history that is now being preserved in the land. Her final project
will be linked to the Perry natural Area preserve page on the
Avalonia Website.
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| Fiddleheads |
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| Trout Lily |
Senior Integrative Projects
On
a slightly different note, I would like to give a shout-out to the
seniors of Goodwin-Niering who presented their Senior Integrative
Projects to their friends, parents, and colleagues on Thursday, May
5th.
A lot of their projects were closely tied with land conservation and
had an overall connection to the land. A few people who I want to
highlight are Olivia Rabbitt, Matt Luciani, and Aly Cheney. Olivia’s
project focused on permaculture as she had experienced during her
time in Hawaii. She explained how one of the intentions of
permaculture was the “intended goal of healing the earth” which I
think ties nicely in with the work that Avalonia is doing. Matt
looked at the wilderness in how it relates to narratives regarding
Native Americans which shows that it is important not to forget the
history of the land that we live on, something that I am sure Maya
would agree with. Lastly, Aly’s project focused on the issues of
preservation versus conservation as it relates to land use and
recreational activities in Colorado and the importance of “treating
the land in a way that is good for it and good for us.” This
coordinates with Avalonia’s mission to share their trails in order
to communicate the value of these wonderful resources and encourage
the conservation ethic.
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| Not so lovely Poison Ivy. Steer clear of it. |
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| Woodland Azalea |
In
conclusion, I have had such a good experience working with Avalonia,
and specifically Beth, this semester. It has been a lot of fun. I
hope that in the future I will be able to work again with the Land
Trust. I am sure that next year a new batch of GNCE sophomores will
take up the task of doing work with Avalonia, and hopefully someone
will work on the blog too. Just because the semester has come to a
close, that doesn’t mean that our work with Avalonia has ended. On
the contrary, we hope to work with Avalonia for years to come.
NOTE FROM
BETH: Thank you to Jessica for all your writing. And thank you to
all of these wonderful students. Each year I get bonded to them for a
short time. I have really enjoyed the experience and effort. It
has been truly rewarding to see some of the upperclassmen mentor the
sophomores, to make an effort to stay involved with Avalonia, and
keep what they learned close at heart as they move out into their
next phase of life and learning. Congratulations and best wishes to
all the students of GNCE, especially the graduates.
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| Quince |
Photographs by
Beth Sullivan.
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