Page 7 - CHANGING Winter 2018

The Bronx Institute at Lehman College • Bronx GEAR UP Network
www.TheBronxInstitute.org
wAVE hIll hAS BEEn A VAlUED PARTnER In oUR EDUcATIonAl EFFoRTS FoR mAny yEARS. ThIS yEAR, ThE GARDEn TREATED oUR STUDEnTS To SEVERAl InTERESTInG AcTIVITIES AnD woRKShoPS, SUch AS InTRoDUcInG ThEm To DIFFEREnT BIomES (DIFFEREnT EcoloGIcAl AREAS, wITh PlAnTS AnD AnImAlS chAnGInG To FIT ThEIR DIFFEREnT EnVIRonmEnTS), ThE AnImAlS ThAT lIVE In ThEm AnD how BoTh AnImAlS AnD hUmAnS AFFEcT ThEIR EnVIRonmEnT.
“My visit to Wave Hill taught me a lot about urban restoration and ecology. I learned new things I didn’t learn in class, as well as background information about the environment, animals and plants. A lot of people are taking down trees and parks, so we don’t have much nature around us. Since my high school is focused on the environment, I’ll need this information in the future, so I’m happy to have it.”
Adeeta Singh – MS 280
““At Wave Hill, I found myself learning about small critters like worms. For many critters, you think they’re just there, but they actually help the environment. However, worms can actually harm the soil they burrow into, which surprised me. I thought they were good for the soil. I’ve realized that the environment around us is good to learn about and very beautiful. We’re such a busy community that we don’t keep the environment in mind, but we should really keep the ecosystem and animals in mind while building businesses. I know that I’ll keep in mind where I design my stuff so I can do my part to keep the environment healthy.”
Cristina Guerrero – MS 280
“Wave Hill is a very peaceful and family friendly place. If you come here to learn, the teachers and staff are very helpful. We’ve been learning about the forest, the worms and the food web of the forest. It gives you a stable beginning on the topic, and you get a journal so you can write down your own thoughts while exploring. It’s very beginner friendly, and the hands-on activities provide a better point of view than just sitting in the classroom. I’ll be ahead of the other students when I go back to school.” Melody Hernandez – MS 244
“At Wave Hill, we learned about what we can do to restore the forest. We also learned about all the gardens and how insects interact with the gardens to help them grow. Wave Hill helped me to expand my knowledge about science and the Earth. Now when my teacher is talking about a topic, I can say ‘I learned this!’ We also visited plenty of biomes on our trip. My favorite biome was the tropical rainforest. It has a bigger variety of flowers than the others and they don’t have to be in the ground to reproduce.”
Wynifel Arias – Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music
“I really enjoyed doing tree identification at Wave hill. It’s something I’ve never done and it was very interesting. In order to identify a specific tree, you need to look at the shape and veins of its leaves. I’ve always really liked science, so now that I’ve gone to Wave hill, I’ll be even more excited and engaged by it when I get back to school. There’s always more to do when it comes to taking care of the environment, and I’d hate to see my community unhealthy. My favorite biome was the desert. Even though it’s really hot, I really liked seeing the variety of cacti. Other plants are good too, but I’m a big fan of the cactus.”
Katia Lopez – West Bronx Academy for the Future 7
The Bronx Institute Bronx GEAR UP Network