Chelmsford students helping protect watershed
Today’s students will one day inherit the Earth, the densest planet in the Solar System, with 71 percent of its surface covered in water — and students at Keystone Montessori Elementary are preparing for that.
Located in North Chelmsford at 55 Middlesex St., first- through sixth-graders at Keystone Montessori Elementary School, in a co-taught classroom, have been collaborating with the Nashua River Watershed Association (NRWSA) to clean up at Varney Playground, located at 45 Adams St, and Freeman/Crystal Lake in North Chelmsford. The project was funded via the NRWSA from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The school is located in the Merrimack River Watershed Council (MRWSC), a branch of the NRWSA.
"The main idea was watershed protection, which includes taking care of the land. Because it rains, it rushes into water bodies," said NRWA Environmental Education Director Mary Marro, who worked directly with the classroom in carrying out the project.
Marro works with schools and other programs throughout the watershed, which has 32 towns. These are often outdoor lessons spent observing, measuring and maintaining bodies of water.
"Kids could see what runoff types are in their community, such as oil on the road, salt, dog waste and fertilizer," Marro said. "We learned about mammals and other creatures that need the watershed… We made different animal tracks."
The NRWA’s purpose is to work for a healthy ecosystem with clean water and open spaces for human and wildlife communities, where people unite to sustain mutual economic and environmental wellbeing in the Nashua River Watershed. F
ounded in 1969, the nonprofit NRWA aims to restore and protect water quality and quantity for people, fish and wildlife, conserve open spaces and encourage careful land use management.
"A lot of the trash, it takes a longtime to decompose and during that time, more people will litter and litter, which mean they’re going to keep having trash for a very longtime, but if you pick it up, you can reduce those rates," said Montessori student Ryan.
By working with the NRWA, students learned how to prevent pollution in the area, what animals are affected in local watersheds and examined topographic maps.
Montessori Students drew water samples from Stony Brook, where they surprisingly found had high-quality water. Despite layers of trash, Marro and students discovered stoneflies in the river, which can only live in clean and well-oxygenated water.
"Students then looked at them under microscopes and they had to identify them," said Marro, who also made topography maps out of felt with the students. After collecting water samples, students entered observations into a national database.
Youngsters ventured out to Varney Playground and Freeman Lake, where they found an invasive plant called the Japanese Knotweed, which they dug out with their hands. Students learned how making room for healthy plans could help slowdown water runoff.
Students also worked hard at collecting trash, such as cigarette butts, cans, tinfoil, small plastic toys and plastic water bottles. They worked even harder to remove the knotweed out of the ground to allow for healthier plants to grow.
Since, students have been planning a play on their experience for community outreach. In addition, students have reached out to the public by using social media, posting fliers and reaching out to the town and local media. Students invite all to their next cleanup Wednesday, June 4, with a June 5 rain date.
"They were successful with everything we planned… The students are so motivated, aware and focused that it was one for the easiest groups I’ve ever worked with. They were amazing and had a good knowledge base with their teachers," said Marro.
"They have such a good base of being able to work together and work in their community."
