What better classroom is there than the waters and shoreline right here in New Rochelle?
On Sept. 12, New Rochelle educators from across the district came together at Five Islands Park for a hands-on Marine Ecology workshop focused on exploring the Long Island Sound and discovering the learning opportunities available right in their school’s own community.
The workshop, part of a series of Long Island Sound Mentor Teacher Program workshops, was made possible through a partnership with New York Sea Grant (NYSG) and the Long Island Sound Study Partnership, providing 14 educators, 8 from New Rochelle public schools, with opportunities, resources, and equipment to bring coastal science and environmental education into their classrooms.
Five Islands Park represents an exciting and untapped resource for place-based learning in New Rochelle. It is located close to a number of schools, and provides an opportunity for students to experience and investigate ecosystem learning first-hand. For New Rochelle students, the waters of the Long Island Sound are not somewhere far away in a textbook. It is right here in their own backyard, where there is so much more to discover.
“It is wonderful to have this opportunity to have professional development opportunities in nature and by our community’s teachers,” said Lucia Brea, a teacher at the Jefferson Elementary School.
Working with the LL Bean Discovery School, teachers took to the water in kayaks and explored the five islands from a perspective that many students, and even adults, rarely experience. Educators investigated the marine ecosystem and explored life cycles and organisms connected to the Long Island Sound while considering how authentic experiences could translate into meaningful investigations for students.
This experience allowed teachers to become scientists and explorers themselves. Getting into the water in waders, kayaking around the islands, making observations, asking questions, and seeing New Rochelle’s coastline in an entirely new way.
“Place-based learning is critical for science education,” said Carmen Glenn, a teacher at New Rochelle High School. “Five Islands Park is an ecological gem where students can learn about local ecology and human impact on the environment.”
For Brea, experiencing the ecosystem firsthand was particularly powerful. “This was an amazing experience: to be able to visit the park, get into the water with waders and kayaks, and explore our local ecosystem. It was exciting to experience a place so close to our schools as a living laboratory for learning”.
The workshop is also laying the groundwork for continued opportunities for New Rochelle students. “The hub for Eco-Ambassadors in the summer can support learning throughout the entire year,” said Jonathan LaRosa, a teaher at New Rochelle High School.
Looking ahead, the organizers hope to establish a lending library of equipment and activities that New Rochelle teachers can use when bringing their students to Five Islands Park. The lending library would provide educators with tools and resources to help students investigate the estuary through hands-on experiences.
Students could observe organisms and habitats, investigate water and shoreline conditions, document biodiversity, explore food webs and life cycles, and develop a deeper understanding of how the Long Island Sound connects to their own community.
“Providing opportunities for students to deepen their connection with the natural world is the first step in developing a sense of environmental stewardship in our students.” said Terri Agravat, a New Rochelle STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) teacher from Trinity Elementary School.
The workshop demonstrated the power of collaboration among New Rochelle educators, New York Sea Grant, the Long Island Sound Study Partnership, and community partners. By connecting teachers across grade levels with local environmental resources, the initiative is helping create new possibilities for hands-on science, environmental literacy, and place-based learning throughout the district.
It was led by Glenn and LaRosa from New Rochelle High School, in partnership with Lilli Genovesi (NYSG and the Long Island Sound Partnership), and brought together educators from several New Rochelle schools, including Agravat, Brea, Yesenia Sanchez, a kindergarten teacher at Trinity, Claudia Gianserra and Scott Misner from Isaac E. Young Middle School, and Peggy Younger from New Rochelle High School.
There are many other Mentor Teacher workshops that happen throughout the year, including a workshop being held along the Bronx River in Yonkers on Sunday, Sept. 27 from 10 am to 3 pm. Registration is free and open to educators throughout the state. If any teacher is interested in participating. contact Genovesi at lg543@cornell.edu and see the following links for more information:
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