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Students present Ragged Island research; elementary teachers describe NOAA B-WET watershed unit
Summary
High school students described CNU-supported field work documenting erosion, salinity and 'ghost forests' at Ragged Island; elementary teachers summarized a NOAA B-WET grant that funds hands-on watershed lessons and stewardship projects for third graders.
Two presentations at the Nov. 13 meeting highlighted student-centered science and environmental education activities.
Smithfield High School students described multi-year research with Christopher Newport University’s Fear to Hope program studying Ragged Island’s decline. Student speakers explained tree-core sampling and ghost-forest observations showing increased salinity and stressed ring patterns consistent with saltwater intrusion. "The island is dying at alarming rates," one student said, adding that loss of the marsh/forest buffer increases flooding and damages ecosystems and nearby property.
Separately, Carsville and Windsor third-grade teachers outlined a 10-day, hands-on NOAA B-WET (Bay Watershed Education and Training) grant unit. The lesson sequence included field work at Windsor Castle Park, use of a learning barge in Norfolk, macroinvertebrate sampling to assess water quality, and stewardship projects such as rain barrels and a cardboard recycling pilot at Carsville. Teachers said the grant supports SOL-aligned lessons, teacher professional development days and plans to expand the curriculum to Hardy and Carrollton as funding continues.
Both presentations emphasized student engagement with authentic data collection and community-facing projects. Students invited board members to a CNU symposium in April where research posters will be displayed, and teachers asked staff to pursue media or WHRO coverage to amplify student work.
What happens next: Students will present a fuller poster at a CNU symposium in April; teachers said the third-grade stewardship projects will continue and the division will explore wider program rollout as grant funding allows.
