Wind Waves and Variables
Beginning in the 2021-22 school year, FNLC partnered with Exordium, a nature and outdoor education organization, to design and teach a place-based curriculum about the Lake Champlain Basin to students in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties.
Classes in Sheldon and Highgate learning about topographical maps and the Lake Champlain watershed.
The fifth grade students in Sheldon, Highgate, North Hero, and Alburgh learned about the natural, social, and economic history of the region, plus the elements of the physical, chemical and biological science that underpin the dynamics of the watershed. Today’s grade school students will make the decisions of tomorrow, and as adults, they are more likely to act in an environmentally responsible manner if these values are instilled in their youth.
The course is congruent with the Next Generation Science Standards and is instructed in four sessions each month with two field trips. The field trips include an examination of the Chazyan reefs exposed at the Isle LaMotte Preservation Trust’s Goodsell Ridge preserve, and an excursion to the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge.
