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Save The Bay & Warwick Public Schools 

2022-2025

We are so excited to announce that due to a three-year grant–Thank you, Senator Jack Reed! Our 4th-grade students and educators are expanding on their annual Save the Bay experience! The program has always been a multi-step process for our students, that process, and what’s being added thanks to grant funding, is outlined below.

A Walk In Your Watershed 

This program will happen at the school, ideally outside, perhaps on the school grounds or nearby the school; typically this occurs in the fall months. 

Professional Development for Teachers *New*  

Teachers visit The Bay Center for professional development.This was added thanks to the grant funding and provides a day of training and professional development for our teachers in the fall. Grade 4 teachers have a chance to visit the Save the Bay campus in Providence, participate in hands-on lessons and enjoy a boat ride in Narragansett Bay.

Bay Experience

This program will happen in person at school in the classroom during the wintertime and this is a particular favorite of the students!

“This program teaches students about the anatomy and adaptations of Bay creatures through observation of live animals that we bring into your classroom. Save The Bay educators arrive at your classroom with three or four species for the class to study, along with other teaching tools. After an age-appropriate introduction to Narragansett Bay, students are introduced to the animals one at a time, with special attention paid to the unique adaptations and anatomy of each animal.”  

Marine Science & Visit to The Bay Center

Students discover what/who inhabits the bay.

This program/field trip happens at the Save The Bay Center in Providence during the spring. Students visit The Bay Center for a day divided into two parts, classroom learning on land, and exploration in the bay on a boat. Every student/teacher will have the opportunity to participate in both the land and sea experiences. 

Plankton: Tiny Building Blocks of the Bay 

“Students immerse themselves in the minuscule world of plankton and use microscopes to observe specimens and identify the differences between phytoplankton and zooplankton. They also explore the role of plankton in Bay food webs and life cycles.”

Plankton viewed under a microscope.

Life In Your Watershed 

“How are you linked to Narragansett Bay? Using a watershed model, students build a town and then pollute it, to see how our actions on land affect our rivers and the Bay. Students define a watershed, locate their place within the Narragansett Bay watershed and discuss various pollutants that impact their local waterways.”   

Boat Program

“During the other half of the day, students play the role of marine ecologist, examining the Bay through a variety of hands-on activities. They’ll test water quality for salinity, dissolved oxygen, thermoclines, and turbidity and talk about the human impacts that affect these water quality indicators. They’ll trawl for creatures from the Bay floor, getting up close with the likes of various crabs, fish, and marine plants.”

Students learn how to collect water from the bay floor.

Students learn about water chemistry.

Students check salt levels in the water.

 





Stewardship Action Project *New*

Teachers will choose an appropriate Stewardship Action initiative for their class. Possible options may include a schoolyard or coastal clean-up, or a letter-writing campaign to a local representative. This program will happen in the spring at the school with Save The Bay staff available to support teachers.

Pre/Post-Questionnaire *New*

Students will be asked to take a short questionnaire to assess their knowledge of the Watershed both before the program begins and again after they have completed the program and visited The Bay Center. This will provide Warwick Schools and Save The Bay with valuable information regarding the success of the program.

We are so thankful for our partnership with Save The Bay and how programs like these enrich our students' learning!

 For more information about Save The Bay's educational programs, www.savebay.org/educat...