What We Are Reading

In a powerful follow up to his national best seller "Last Child in The Woods", Richard Louv urges readers to change their vision of the future suggesting we reconceive environmentalism and sustainability, they will evolve into a movement that touches all of society. Louv offers renewed optimism while challenging us to rethink the way we live.

Middle School Students Go Cat-tailing (and more)

This year some of the 6^th grade service projects focused on the outdoor spaces on campus.  Excited about spending the day in the Preserve some students had the fun of Cat-tailing (cutting and piling dead cattails from the preserve  and piled in the woods to decompose) a process designed to curtail the monoculture and make access to the ponds.  The tightly compacted soil around the birch trees in the preserve was aerated with kid power and hand rakes with some students hauling leaf detritus in paper bags to the woods to decompose.  Other students planted flowers outside the dining hall and acorns were collected around the quad for Project Acorn, Middle School Green Ambassadors project where  oak trees are grown from felled acorns on campus to give to each senior at graduation as a remembrance of their roots here at GA.

The Herb Garden in The Academic Courtyard

The Academic Courtyard located between the Middle and Upper Schools boasts nine beds of culinary and medicinal herbs.  Each bed represents herbs for different disorders along with many varieties of trees and perennials to attract a range of pollinators and birds. The space has recently undergone remediation with the addition of topsoil and regrading to improve drainage. An irrigation system has been installed as well. Look for new activity in the beds this spring as MS and UP students begin new research in the area.

Art in The Preserve

Earlier this fall, Art Across the Academy, a new arts initiative directed by Jessica Grisafi and Sara Ritz, hosted an art making event during Preserve Day. Arts faculty, along with parents, teachers, administrators and students made sculptural elements woven from cattail cuttings for a site specific installation. Click here to read more about Art Across the Academy.

Marine Biology Heads to the Beach!

Every September, the US Marine Bio students head to the Jersey Shore to investigate the unique ecology of both the salt marsh and a barrier island beach.

Students conduct chemical tests at both locations, and collect plankton and sediment samples which are brought

back to our lab for further analysis. They  also use seine nets to collect organisms and then observe and discuss the biodiversity at each location.

"One of the most interesting activities is the collection of data at the beach, called a transect, which allows students to visualize a profile when the data is graphed back at school. This year we analyzed our data along with data taken at the same spot thirteen years ago!" reports teacher Becky Pizzino.

"Google Earth is also used in our discussion of how Stone Harbor Point has changed due to both human and natural processes (especially Super Storm Sandy!)."

What We Are Reading

Richard Louv in his influential work Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, speaks directly to the "staggering divide between children and the outdoors" argues that a growing nature-deficit in our wired children threatens their health and well being along with that of our families and communities. More than just a call to action, Louv offers practical suggestions for creating meaningful bonds with the outdoors.  

Planting Garlic for Overwintering in Lower School Garden

The late autumn garden season in the lower school wasn't quite over yet for busy lower school students.  While most folks were getting ready to celebrate the plethora of winter holidays, the kindergarten class was thinking about spring. The spring garden that is. During science class each student was busy planting a garlic glove for overwintering. Once harvested in spring, students will dry the garlic in a dehydrator and make and eat home grown garlic bread!