Gwendoline van Putten school students exploring nature in St. Eustatius. (Hannah Madden photo)
ST. EUSTATIUS–Caribbean Netherlands Science Institute (CNSI) was recently requested by science teacher Froukje Spoelma of Gwendoline van Putten (GvP) secondary school to facilitate activities for her students over the last four weeks of the academic year. The aim was to introduce her students to the natural environment of St. Eustatius.
The first week included a visit to CNSI, where students were given a presentation about the institute’s history and role, as well as a tour of its laboratory and office space.
The following week, CNSI visited the school, where terrestrial ecologist Hannah Madden gave a lesson and led a field trip based on lesson box materials prepared by Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, the Netherlands.
The topic was reptiles and after a brief introduction and discussion, students searched for different species within walking distance of the school.
This short exercise enabled students to determine which reptile species are more often found in urban areas such as the panther anole, and which species were not found at all such as the endangered Lesser Antillean iguana and red-bellied racer snake.
The topic of the third week was pollinators, again using Naturalis materials, after and having a brief discussion inside the classroom before heading outside. The group looked for flowering plants and observed which species pollinated specific flowers, as well as the shape and colour of flowers. By using a net to safely catch butterflies and bees, students were able to identify the species.
For the fourth and final week, St. Eustatius National Parks Stenapa gave in-school lessons on the topic of sharks as a precursor, to their annual Shark Week. Students enjoyed a presentation and answered questions in a quiz based on the information provided.
While many people fear sharks, most species are harmless to humans and they play a vital role in the marine ecosystem.
“I was very pleased with the cooperation between CNSI, Stenapa and the GvP school. Over the last three years many activities were organized to give students the opportunity to learn more about the natural environment of St. Eustatius and other Caribbean islands. The majority of students were very enthusiastic about the classes. They love to explore and go out on fieldtrips, and given the chance they would do it every week. I hope our working relationship will continue in the future for the benefit of the students,” Spoelma said.
CNSI and Stenapa said they look forward to collaborating further with GvP, other schools and after-school clubs on Statia, and encourage educators to come forward with requests for classes and field trips.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/78076-cnsi-introduces-students-to-statia-s-natural-environment
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