THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9512020144
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Ten-year-old Temple Nedab couldn't wait to get her hands dirty Tuesday, breaking through fresh peat moss to help plant blue spruces, purple butterfly bushes and velvety pansies in a section of her school's new ``Patriot Park.''
``All of this will really help us learn about the environment and learn how to take care of plants,'' the Churchland Academy fifth-grader said. ``It will be a beautiful place to look out the window and see.''
Tuesday's groundbreaking - in the grassy area behind the school - kicked off the natural habitat project.
Temple and other students relished the chance to take leading roles in the effort. Most of them described it simply as ``fun.''
But educators say the schoolwide project is about much more than amusement or aesthetics. It's designed to give students a better understanding of environmental issues as well as provide a laboratory of sorts to back up classroom instruction.
Students also will share their findings over the Internet with schoolchildren involved in similar initiatives around the country.
``It's hands-on and that helps students in ways that a textbook can't always match,'' said Audrey Smart, one of several teachers who embraced the idea and helped craft grant proposals to fund it.
The lessons will be part of the regular school day. Kids, for example, will have the chance to measure the plants' growth and write about their development, design flower beds and conduct scientific experiments with plants from their own garden.
Another key goal is for teachers to use the project to show students how subjects are related or connected, Smart said.
The project will be ongoing, with staffers, volunteers and students planting - and then monitoring - a variety of flowers, trees and crops throughout the year.
Local nurseries and neighborhood groups, such as the Merrifields Garden Club, have volunteered to help out. Most expenses will be covered with grant money already secured for the project.
Patriot Park itself is just beginning to sprout.
It now consists of the 10-by-100 foot area along the fence behind the school, where students, teachers and nearby residents worked Tuesday afternoon. And there's a tree that was planted last school year in memory of a student who died.
Construction of a small pond just beyond the beds - and a separate garden for a few crops - will be completed by next spring, said Principal Claude Parent.
PTA members also are raising money to buy swings and other playground equipment for the area, he said.
William Kinash, whose daughters Allison and Natalie attend the school, had trouble concealing his grin as he watched them garden with gusto after the groundbreaking ceremony.
``It gives the children an opportunity to see how important it is to take care of the environment and it helps them appreciate Mother Nature,'' he said. ``They will learn how their actions, or inactions, can affect the environment.''
David Emmerich, a Merrifields Garden Club member, agreed.
Emmerich, whose daughter attends Churchland Academy, was one of several club participants who stopped by the school to pitch in.
``If you've got these kids interested in this project, maybe they'll have more respect for the work that goes into it and a different outlook on the environment,'' he said. ``It can't hurt.''
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
Students, faculty and volunteers plant shrubs and flowers behind
Churchland Academy Elementary School.
Jason Coakley, Donte Lawrence and Alisha Cooper participate in the
program geared to the environment.
by CNB