On May 6, students in Mrs. Lauren Chubb’s ninth-grade environmental science class took a field trip to Little Buffalo State Park. This trip was designed to be a fun learning experience for all students who attended. Every student got to choose a first and second choice from selected activities they wanted to do while at the park.
Just about everyone received their first choice. There were three stations, one for building wooden duck and bluebird boxes, one for removing invasive species and planting native species in their place, and another one for planting butterfly and pollinator gardens. This education trip helped show students how they can easily make the surrounding ecosystem healthier.

While some students removed invasive species and planted butterfly and pollinator gardens, other students got to use a shovel to get rid of the weeds and invasive species corrupting the ground to plant some new ecosystem-friendly plants that would increase the chances of pollinators. In the wood ducks and bluebird boxes station, students got to build and also help remove invasive species after they were done. 

Freshman Rachael Olivenci says, “It was more fun than I expected and I learned how to work with my peers and problem-solve efficiently.”  Olivenci worked on the wood duck and bluebird boxes and afterward looked for areas with trees on which to have the workers place them. 

The students had the experience of how to help the earth grow in a better direction, rather than letting little inconveniences that could turn into bigger ones such as invasive plants dictate the health of the environment.

“I’m proud [that] my 9th grade students were able to make some environmental improvements at Little Buffalo this year,” says Mrs. Chubb, “They did a fantastic job building wood duck boxes to help that population, removing invasive species, and planting native plants.”