REAL-WORLD READINESS: STUDENTS IN ACTION
REAL-WORLD READINESS: STUDENTS IN ACTION
Franklin Regional Intermediate School students Jorge Paccio and Parker Graham collaborate at one of the Discovery Trail’ s stops which doubles as an outdoor classroom. The space is a living laboratory where students practice the critical thinking, adaptability, teamwork, and applied skills that directly translate to realworld readiness.
Declan Bumbera, Eddie Pido, and Mark Bittel engage with real ecosystems, weather conditions, and living organisms on the new Discovery Trail along Haymaker Run on the Franklin Regional Elementary Campus.
Declan Bumbera, Eddie Pido, and Mark Bittel point to trees and other life that exists in and around Haymaker Run as indicated on the newly placed environmental signage, building an understanding of sustainability, community health, and stewardship. ranklin Regional FRANKLIN REGIONAL NEWS
Tessa Neff, Claire Pascuzzi, and Hayley Walch engage their critical thinking and problem solving skills at the In-Stream Structures signage near Haymaker Run. This signage has valuable information about the history of Haymaker Run’ s streambanks and how they were stabilized. The sign is number 5 out of 6 on the trail and also defines riprap, log vane deflectors, log framed cross vane, and modified mudsill.
Tanish Patel uses a plankton net to search for microplastics in Haymaker Run, connecting in the classroom studies to real world, hands-on experiences as a part of the Intermediate School’ s environmental literacy programming. He learned how microplastics can impact water quality and cause a ripple effect on the life within the stream.
30 MURRYSVILLE
Among the many species that live in and around Haymaker Run, Avery Shear shows off a crayfish that she found while on an educational exploration of the new outdoor classroom at Haymaker Run on the Franklin Regional Elementary campus. As they search for living organisms, they gained a greater understanding of how water quality can impact an ecosystem and discover foundational ecological principles that are key to their environmental literacy studies.
As a designated litter free school, Franklin Regional students at the elementary campus participate in at least two litter clean ups each year. Lilah Perks, Levi Lysell, and Gio Manno pull a tire from the creek during their most recent clean up, fostering citizenship, responsibility, and respect for the environment where they live, learn, and play.
After gathering samples from Haymaker Run, Sarah Diehl, Claire Pascuzzi, Joslyn Slater, and Tessa Neff search for macroinvertebrates. Through this lesson, students explored systems thinking where they identify the relationship between macroinvertebrates, water chemistry, habitat conditions, and broader watershed health. They learned to connect what’ s in their stream to larger environmental systems such as regional water quality, biodiversity, and human health.