Sixteen Boardman students and their teachers, Mr. Lenhart and Mrs. Frost, made a strong impression at the Stormwater Conference in Sandusky Friday, where they presented the ongoing work taking place at the Forest Lawn Stormwater Park! This was an important part of the vision of Jason Loree and ABC Water District!
Conference scientists were especially impressed by the collaboration between Boardman Local School District and Kent State University’s wetlands monitoring program — and by the powerful learning experience it is creating for Boardman students. Just recently, high school students and eighth graders spent a full day at the site collecting and analyzing stream data alongside Kent State researchers.
For seven of the presenters, the story came full circle. Now juniors and seniors at Boardman High School, they first attended this same conference as 7th and 8th graders, sharing their early involvement in monitoring and planning the former Market Street School site.
That partnership will continue. Boardman Local School District will serve as a pilot program for this kind of hands-on science education, with the Forest Lawn site continuing to be both an outdoor classroom and a living research project.