Students from McNicol Middle School recently participated in the 17th annual Wheelabrator Symposium for Environment and Education, a symposium in which students commit to a six-month learning project, identifying an environmental challenge in their community and developing a long-term solution.
Students from McNicol have participated in the symposium three times now. The first year, they initiated an in-house recycling program, and the second year, they expanded the recycling program and branched out into the community and other schools. This year, however, the students worked with a local environmental landscape architect to design a hummingbird habitat for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that pass by the school on their migrations. Students will also use the space for school-wide outdoor learning.
“The name of our group is G.A.I.A., which is the Greek goddess of earth and also an acronym for Growing Awareness In All,” said Lara Coronel, a McNicol engineering teacher. “We are a small after school group. The students work very hard, but the rewards are huge.”
McNicol, along with other schools in New England, the mid-Atlantic and Florida, received $500 in startup funds and a $1,000 donation from Wheelabrator at the conclusion of the event.
