Thanks to supporters of our Facebook fundraising campaign, our 5th grade Ecosystem Movies project in Beverly is well underway. 5th grade classes are venturing into Phillips Reservation with our instructors, to document the "characters" in the drama that is this waterside red oak, cherry, and hickory tree forest. Instructors challenge students to find and identify as many plants and animals as possible, and find interactions between them, and then re-enact this drama by taking on the roles of the living things themselves. Instructors film the skits and edit them to share with the students and their families. On our first adventure, we found diving bufflehead ducks, woodpeckers making tree cavities to be shared by black capped chickadees, vines strangling trees, and lots more. The adventures continue next week!
 

The middle and high school Conservation Club, a partnership between Endicott College and Kestrel Educational Adventures, spent the first three weeks exploring and discussing proposed project ideas. On week four, we pooled all our interests and ideas and designed a project sure to inspire adventure and help the community. We will be visiting points along the Ipswich River, from upstream all the way down into Essex Bay, to document living things in and along the waters. We will also be running some tests to measure the health of the water. Our club members will be sharing their findings via creating a set of publicly available videos. The Conservation Club is an afterschool club inviting students to take on leadership roles, make big decisions, connect with nature, and make a difference for their communities.