Environmental Education Through Community Service

A community service-based environmental education partnership between The Lawrenceville School, Slackwood Elementary School in Lawrence Township, and The Watershed Institute, a local environmental education and protection nonprofit, was recently recognized for achieving excellence in environmental teaching and learning.

 

Last month, The Watershed Institute honored Lawrenceville’s Director of Sustainability Steve Laubach with the Richard Rotter Award for Excellence in Environmental Education. Laubach was awarded the honor along with Jeanne Muzi, Principal of Slackwood Elementary School in Lawrence Township, for their collaborative work on the program “Together We Can - A Green Partnership.”

 

According to Pat Heaney, assistant director of education at The Watershed, who presented the award along with Watershed Education Director Jeff Hoagland, traditional Russian matryoshka nesting dolls are an apt metaphor for the collaborative nature of the partnership between the Schools and Watershed educators.

 

“I look at it as one of those nesting dolls because right inside is this little gem,” Heaney said. “To me, the gems inside are the third graders at Slackwood. They’re there to have fun at the park next to their school and to learn and to be engaged in the outdoors.. And we always tell them that the goal of the day is to stay safe, learn and have fun, and that’s what it’s all about.”

 

The next layer, Heaney said, are the students from Lawrenceville who participated in the program as part of their LCAP, or Lawrenceville Community Action Project – a one-term weekly project coordinated by the Community Service Office. Surrounding them are Watershed Institute interns who “were honing their skills as environmental educators by teaching the Lawrenceville students who were then teaching the third graders.”

 

“The big doll on the outside was Steve and Jeanne and the educators here who worked together to put this program together,” Heaney said. “But really, what it came down to is everyone working together to spread these wonderful activities and it could not happen without Steve Laubach and without Jeanne Muzi.”

 

Sonia Ivancic ’25 says the concept for the program began when members of Lawrenceville’s Sustainability Council wanted to create a Sustainability-themed LCAP through Lawrenceville's Community Service Program. “We decided on the concept of providing environmental education to young children and getting them outside for more time during the school day,” she said. “We contacted the Watershed Institute as they have an educational program and they helped come up with weekly lessons and activities. We did a trial run ‘one time event’ and the third graders we worked with really enjoyed the day planting outside so we started the LCAP the following fall.”

 

The structure of the program is both intensive and immersive. It includes an overview day at Lawrenceville, with Director of Community Service Elizabeth Ferguson, followed by a training day with The Watershed Institute at Slackwood. The Lawrenceville students then lead two cycles of educational activities for third graders, teaching the same lessons the following week to a new group of students. The model not only reinforces the high school students' learning but also maximizes the educational impact for the elementary students. The program ran from September 2023 through the end of April 2024 and culminated with a water testing event at the Shabakunk Creek.

 

“It allows the students to explore concepts like the food chain that they learn in science class for themselves by doing activities like a decomposer scavenger hunt,” Ivancic says. “Slackwood also has really nice woods and outdoor areas that they often don't get to use so it is important to give the children time to play outside and be in nature.”

“I really liked doing the chemistry tests when we were at the stream,” said Marcus Yang, a student at Slackwood. “I also liked comparing all the different data. I think being a part of this program was a great experience and other kids will definitely like to do it.”

“Seeing all the things at the stream, like the macroinvertebrates, was great and I learned a lot about safe and healthy streams,” said Slackwood student Avery Mack. “I really liked learning from the high school students and the watershed scientists. It was fun to present at the Watershed.”

“This stream project and outdoor observations proved to be the perfect way to put students at the center of the learning,” said Mrs. Patricia Finn, third grade teacher at Slackwood. “They became hands-on scientists out in their community.”

“I think it is important to do this kind of environmental education because these kids are the future of helping the environment,” says Audrey Cheng ‘25, a member of the Sustainability Council and participant in the program. “It is important to educate them from a young age in order to deepen their interest in sustainability and the environment. I think it is important that kids are educated about these issues as they have a lot of power to make changes, especially if they begin to take actions younger.”

"I feel lucky to share my environmental education journey with so many current and future leaders and to support our students in doing amazing things like presenting at forums about these sessions," said Watershed Education Intern Julia Kizar. "Learning and teaching togetherness with each other and the natural world is a real gift, so it’s beautiful be included in a partnership with the potential to inspire lifelong commitments to those values. Experiences like these are so crucial in developing the caring, passionate, and hopeful relationships that we need to protect our environment and make positive, long-lasting changes."

The program is just one example of how New Jersey, the only state that requires climate change be taught to all students from kindergarten through 12th grade, takes a problem-solving approach and incorporates hands-on access to the natural world.

“I think that sustainability and environmental challenges are only becoming more pressing and integral to our everyday lives, so I find it really important to start educating children at a young age,” says Sophia Kohmann ‘24. “I really liked the Watershed Institute's program because it met students where they were at, planting the seeds of environmental consciousness in a fun and comprehensive way that resonated with the young students.”

Sahas Chodhuri ‘24, who was so inspired by his environmental education work at Lawrenceville that he plans to continue studying the discipline at Cornell University next year, says the combination of community service and sustainability “transcended my experience at Lawrenceville, and exploring the intersectionality of both areas of interest always compelled me.”

“Getting involved with the youth and kids is essential for promoting new ideas and inspiring kids to love learning,” he says. “As a society who downplays the importance of environmental science, teaching kids about the environment is important to cultivate leaders who will address and make these changes in the future.”