New Haven Independent

About six hands went up in this group of 21 kids, all of them bundled up against the gusting October winds, wearing life vests and carrying red, orange, and green paddles. The rest seemed a little apprehensive.

By the time they left the park across from Barnard Thursday, the students got to see the West River neighborhood in a whole new way, not just on the river, but in mud flats and among milkweed pods. They were visiting Barnard’s “Outdoor Classroom,” a stretch of underused natural beauty that the public can explore as well this Sunday in a canoe trip as part of Edgewood Park festival. (In addition to canoeing, there’ll be hawk-watching and pumpkin painting, among other activities. All programs are free and open to the public.)

Barnard, a K-8 school, is located right across the Boulevard from the West River canoe launch. The school is currently undergoing a major expansion and renovation, so the students are spending the year in a temporary location in Fair Haven. When the new facility is complete, it will be Connecticut’s largest solar energy project. For now, the students make trips back to the neighborhood to explore the park.

At the park Thursday, the Barnard third graders were divided into two groups. While one group paddled along the river to observe the low tide mudflats and to try to get a peek at redtail hawks and blue ospreys, the other group met with Dr. Dora Pinou, an environmental studies expert and herpetologist from Western Connecticut State University. Pinou led them on a biodiversity walk.
Armed with magnifying glasses, binoculars, zip-loc bags and even a snakebite kit, they searched the area near the waterway for interesting specimens. But first, Dr. Pinou was careful to assure the group that although her supplies included the snakebite kit, “there are no venomous snakes here today.”

In the crisp, outdoor setting, kids bounded up and down the hillside, all in the name of science. “We were picking leaves and grass,” explained Emonee Easterling, “and now we’re going to go on the boat.” The discovery of milkweed pods near the waterway brought students running over to investigate. “There’s something in it!” yelled one, “get your binoculars!”

The discovery of a crawling insect inside the seed pod elicited several blood-curdling screams. But Gina Besom wasn’t impressed. “Tavares,” she called to a friend, “c’mon, we gotta get some berries.”

Meanwhile in the canoes, strong winds prompted the group to shorten its cruise down the river. Many of the students were relieved to be back on dry land.

New Haven’s Outdoor Adventure Coordinator, Martin Torresquintero, has been taking New Haven’s students canoeing “since we started getting canoes,” twelve years ago. But, he said, “the program has really gotten up to speed in the past seven years.” He wants the kids to see how the environment changes “as the water gets more and more influenced by Long Island Sound.”

Park Ranger Wray Williams has been with the Parks Department for sixteen years and is the staff reptile specialist. He enjoys taking inner city students out into the parks. “A lot of them are into seeing new things and we point things out — ‘OK, look over here, it’s a blue heron.’ They’ve never seen these things before and it’s exciting.”

Other big changes are already underway at Barnard in addition to the school’s renovation. According to Marjorie Drucker, the school’s science resource teacher, the school is currently in its first year as an environmental studies magnet school. The West River will serve as the school’s “outdoor classroom.” “When we’re done [with the renovation], we’re going to be here all the time,” she said.

In addition, Drucker has several more environmental-themed activities planned. Later in the school year, the students will have the opportunity to go out on a boat with the Sound School, and in December, they will begin raising salmon from eggs in preparation for returning them to a river tributary in the spring.