Newark High School seniors Bella Belliveau and Mikalya Miller thoroughly enjoyed attending the week-long Environmental Field Studies Program at Cranberry Lake, Adirondacks in August.
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This unique, six-day environmental education program provides opportunities for students to explore the ecology of the Adirondack Mountains through daily field excursions and group projects enabling them to develop an understanding of the ecology of the Adirondack Mountain region and an appreciation for the beauty and complexity of living systems. Investigations in the field and in the lab involved students in all aspects of the scientific method, from hypothesis formation to data interpretation.
Each day, students were guided by a team of instructors from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and local high school science teachers with a strong interest in ecology.
The program ended with a symposium at which students presented results of their research projects at the Cranberry Lake Biological Station, owned by SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and located on Cranberry Lake in the northwestern Adirondacks.
"The week I spent at ESF's Field Studies Camp helped me to feel more prepared for college through the workload and opportunity to meet new people,” Miller said. “The level of work and independence we were trusted with contributed to the influence of the amazing experience. We learned identification and experimental methods, as well as collaboration skills. My cabin mates and I created friendships that will last a lifetime, we still tell each other whenever something exciting happens in our lives. It's great to go into the week in a cabin with 6 strangers and leave with people who will cheer you on in everything you do."
"I've never learned so much about myself, others, and the world around me in such a short time. This camp was a great experience, and I'm extremely lucky to have been given this opportunity,” Belliveau said.
The NHS seniors’ participation in the program was funded by a scholarship provided by the Melinda Gray Ardia Foundation.
Ardia was a teacher at the Newark Middle School who tragically passed way in a car accident in1996.
"We are so fortunate to have the Melinda Gray Ardia Foundation sponsor this opportunity for our Newark science students, Bella and Mikalya, who were able to spend the week hiking, canoeing, and learning science in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains,” said Aaron Harrington, who teaches AP and Gemini Physics at NHS and is the Science Department Leader