Bear Tavern Elementary School has been announced as the 21st school in Mercer County to join Eco-Schools USA in New Jersey, a partnership between National Wildlife Federation and New Jersey Audubon. New principal Chris Turnbull made the decision to join Eco-Schools USA as a way to build upon an existing culture of environmental awareness and further incorporate sustainability into the curriculum and school grounds.
Their first eco-project will be a school-wide effort to raise rainbow trout and them into the wild at the Forest Resource Education Center in Jackson, NJ later this year. The trout are being used as a platform to teach everything from science and math to writing, reading and art.
Involved from the very beginning, students helped principal Chris Turnbull and guidance counselor Kevin Kerwin to set up the tanks and prepare them for the new visitors. Each day, kids walked into school to see a large sign counting down the days until the eggs arrived. Now that the eggs are here, fourth graders are responsible for caring for the fish, testing water quality and collecting and recording data on a daily basis. Although the fourth grade is leading the charge, all students will benefit from watching the trout grow and making connections to what they are learning in the classroom.
In addition to learning with trout, Bear Tavern students also help maintain an onsite food garden, partake in a TerraCycle recycling program and create art projects throughout the year using recycled materials. The school’s butterfly garden is also recognized as a Certified Wildlife Habitat with National Wildlife Federation.
What’s next for Bear Tavern? They have their sights set high with goals to earn Eco-Schools highest honor, the Green Flag Award. Only five schools in New Jersey hold claim to this award. One of them is Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Lawrenceville where Turnbull was previously the principal.
Mercer County has more registered Eco-Schools than any other county in the state.
