Fifth-graders dive into environmental preservation

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Courtesy of Kali Speer
Indian Mills Memorial fifth-graders Maddie Puleo and Grace Welch created a poster board for their environmental preservation project to demonstrate the damage caused by plastic pollution.

With challenges posed by droughts and wildfires, fifth-grade students at Indian Mills Memorial School took proactive steps to raise awareness about protecting the environment.

In partnership with Monica Cahill from Pinelands Adventures, students engaged in an interactive lesson in November, focusing on environmental preservation. Following that, they spent several weeks conducting research on various environmental topics and created public service announcements (PSAs) to inspire their peers and community, according to Laura Hoffman, director of curriculum and instruction for the Shamong Township School District.

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Among environmental issues the students focused on were forest fires/drought, pollution (air, ocean, water), animal habitats, climate change and plastics. Some of the communities and areas they looked at included New Jersey, the Pine Barrens, Philadelphia, New York, Long Beach Island and Pennsylvania.

The students were asked to research negative environmental impacts; causes of the negative impacts; how people have helped protect community resources; and how science has made a positive impact, Hoffman explained.

Students Carina Eldridge; Oscar Dobias; the group of Nick Seeds, Bodie Worrell, and Colin Weiss; and the group of Maddie Puleo and Grace Welch showed their PSAs at a township board of education meeting in December.

“Do you know how many people are setting forest fires?” asked Worrell in one of the PSAs.

Worrell’s group shared that 99% of wildfires are caused by arson. The students noted additional statistics, including that 16.5% of fires are set by kids, only 10 forest fires are set by lightening each year and that some 7,000 acres in the state that burn each year are the result of wildfires.

Puleo and Welch created a poster for their PSA after fifth-grade science teacher Kali Speer told the two they had a lot of freedom with their project. So they looked at the topic of plastic pollution and went around their neighborhoods looking for litter. Along their canvass, they found plastic water bottles and caps that they put on their poster board.

“Plastics generate greenhouse gas emissions at every step of (their) cycle, from extractions to waste,” Puleo and Welch wrote on their poster.

Hoffman noted that overall, the district believes the initiative for the fifth-graders not only highlights the importance of environmental education, but also showcases the creativity and commitment of the students.

“Shamong Township schools is proud to collaborate with local partners,” she offered, “to enrich our curriculum and empower students to make a meaningful difference in their world.”

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