APES Classes Immerse Themselves in Ecosystem Studies

MC AP Environmental Science students are using our backyard salt marsh as the backdrop to discuss current events relating to ecosystems.

The AP Environmental Science course begins each unit with a survey of current events and how they apply to the important ideas in the unit being studied. The start of this school year begins with the Ecology Unit. Led by teacher Erik Schmitz, the students selected the salt marsh behind campus as backdrop. Each student is assigned a topic in the unit and finds a current event relating to their topic. Students then take turns sharing that current event and ways in which it connects to their topic. Students listen and record notes for a number of reasons: first, it develops excellent habits of scholarship; second, it deepens their understanding and appreciation of the topic's relevancy; third, it increases the chance that they will connect with topics that may appear on the AP exam in May.

 

The Environmental Science students came away from this project with a new understanding of ecology and a local ecosystem from their immersion in our own backyard!