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A scientist traveled from Washington, D.C., to help Cold Hill Elementary School celebrate its new environmental science lab on May 19, 2008.
“It is my honor to dedicate this facility for exploring environmental science,” said Dr. Erik Zobrist, Fishery Biologist at the Restoration Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). “This lab will spark learning that will be reflected not only in state testing, but in their problem-solving throughout life.”
“I commend the faculty and parents for making this opportunity available,” Dr. Zobrist continued. “It is obvious that the entire community supports environmental education. Students see that commitment and take it to heart. They certainly have a leg up on becoming the responsible environmental stewards that our nation and world need.”
Dr. Zobrist was a guest of Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, the region’s environmental education and cleanup initiative, which is funded by NOAA.
A PRIDE Environmental Education Grant for $4,250 helped make the Enviro-Science Lab possible. The PTO also contributed $5,000 to the project.
Other participants in the Enviro-Science Lab Dedication Ceremony were the school’s 311 students, Principal Vicki Jones, PRIDE Club Sponsors Darrin Hacker and Kim Cunagin, and PRIDE President and Chief Executive Officer Karen Engle. The school’s environmental education partners were recognized, including Lowe’s, which donated $5,000 worth of trees, plants and shrubs for the school’s campus.
After the ceremony, all students participated in environmental activities around the campus. The preschool and K-1st graders conducted a campus cleanup. The 2nd graders gathered the recyclable materials. The 3rd grade class participated in activities in the science lab. The 4th graders planted trees and flowers around campus. The 5th grade class conducted water testing activities in the stream located on the school’s campus.
“Having a science lab is beneficial for everyone involved,” said Hacker, who is a 4th grade teacher. “It introduces younger students to science and its concepts, as it reinforces core content with the older students. Students are motivated and involved in higher level thinking skills as they are engaged in various lessons in the lab across the curriculum.”
The Enviro-Science Lab is used by every student in the school. It was built in a room left empty when half the school’s students moved to a new school last fall. The lab contains material and equipment, such as microscopes, for a wide variety of hands-on science lessons. Their experiments and observations have covered such areas as the weather, life cycles of plants and animals, and the effects of pollution and erosion.
The lab is the latest addition to the school’s environmental education program. All students are members of the PRIDE Club, which uses community service and mentoring to build stewardship. All grade levels enjoy hands-on environmental lessons, such as recycling, campus cleanups, plantings and testing water quality. The school participates in PRIDE’s Project Clean Streams, which equips teachers and students to monitor water quality in local streams.
Community members are active in the school’s environmental education program. David Coffey from the Conservation District presented a soil program in the science lab. Flowers by Charles Ray donated fresh flowers and helped the primary students make flower arrangements to take home. Harold Bales plows the school garden every spring. The Laurel County Solid Waste Department assists the school with its recycling efforts. Jackson Energy donated 25 compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs so students could participate in the national “Change a Light, Change the World” campaign, which collects pledges to switch one traditional light bulb with a low-energy CFL bulb.
Eastern Kentucky PRIDE is a nonprofit organization that promotes environmental education and cleanup efforts in 38 counties of southern and eastern Kentucky. It was founded in 1997 by Congressman Hal Rogers and the late James Bickford, former Secretary of the Kentucky Environmental Protection Cabinet.
PRIDE is funded by NOAA, a federal agency that enriches life through science. NOAA works to keep citizens informed of the changing environment around them. NOAA maintains a presence in every state and has emerged as an international leader on scientific and environmental matters.
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