Environmental Education: Year Two Brings Increased Success

Harbor School first graders were among those who took part in Science in Nature. Connecticut Audubon photo by Bob MacDonnell.

The number of students who completed the Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center’s Science in Nature program increased by over 50 percent during the 2017-18 school year, to more than 1,500.

Science in Nature is the foundation of the Connecticut Audubon Society’s outdoor science education work. The 1,500 students were in grades K through 6, from the Essex, Chester, Old Lyme, Lyme, East Lyme and New London school districts.

RTPEC educators have connected children to their local land trust properties and the natural areas near their schools. Using specially designed science journals, children use drawings, writings, data collection and hands-on discovery to document aquatic and forest ecology in our estuary ecosystem.

We are grateful for the support of the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, the Lyme-Old Lyme Education Foundation and The Kitchings Family Foundation without which we could not offer this important program.