Science Celebration Days at Buchanan-Verplanck Elementary School Connect Students with Nature

Students from Buchanan-Verplanck Elementary School recently enjoyed an inspiring and educational nature walk—and they never even left the school grounds.

To help mark Science Celebration Days at the school, students across all grade levels went on a scavenger hunt on the marked nature trails behind the buildings. The walks were led by members of Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES’ Center for Environmental Education, who encouraged the students to use their senses and observe their surroundings.

The students were broken into small groups, each with a chaperone. They were given a laminated sheet and tasked with finding the objects on the sheet, including a live animal, something round, an old leaf, something a bird may use to build a nest, and more.

“It seems like a lot of the students have never been out here before,” STEAM teacher Catherine Holzman said while walking the trail. “We have this amazing resource right behind us and it’s great to incorporate it more purposefully.”

Mrs. Holzman said students are in the process of learning about life cycles. For example, depending on grade level, they recently learned about the life cycle of frogs, chicks, ladybugs and plants.

As another part of their Science Celebration Days this week, they also studied the life cycles of butterflies.

“I wanted them to have a chance to see where some of these creatures live and start to observe life cycles,” Mrs. Holzman said. “They have been able to see caterpillars. They are starting to understand the concept of the whole cycle.”