Released by Mt. Laurel Schools
They could have chosen any topic to explore, but students in Kristy Curtis’ Independent Research Course at the Harrington Middle School decided to learn more about local conservation than the latest celebrity trends. How to improve the life of the Great Blue Heron and the Pine Barrens Tree Frog along the Rancocas Creek Watershed won out over how to achieve star fashion sense when students asked Rancocas Conservancy President Laura Bishop to join them recently for an interview.
“We are researching a project on helping animals near our community and other environmental things, like cleaning rivers and landscapes. We are very environmentally friendly and hope to help the habitats around us as much as possible. We will help you in any way possible but we really need an interview …,” wrote seventh-graders Ronald Hicks, Keith Mazza, Hailey Long and Jessica Luhr.
Bishop, president of the Conservancy since 2010, was quick to accept the invitation. The all-volunteer Board of Trustees of the Conservancy places a priority on educational programs that further the mission of the group to “preserve, protect, and enhance the ecological and cultural integrity of the Rancocas Creek watershed and its environs.”
She arrived at Harrington to find the young researchers prepared with a set of questions and video camera rolling for a subsequent presentation of their research.
Since more than half of Mt. Laurel exists within the boundaries of the Rancocas Creek Watershed, students wondered what steps they might take to help preserve ecological balance in the area.
They discussed the needs of area wildlife and the value of more than 1,000 acres of land set aside as preserves by the Conservancy. The students came away with practical information to share with their peers about the need for recycling and diligence in maintaining the integrity of creek beds free of litter.
Harrington’s Independent Research Course is in its first year at the seventh and eighth-grade middle school. It allows students to select an area of personal interest for their research. Once a topic has been selected, students work in groups to identify effective sources for information and generate quality research questions. Emphasis is placed, according to teacher Kristy Curtis, on extrapolating critical information.
At the conclusion of the course, students must create a final product or presentation based on their findings.
