East Rock School Unveils An ​“Urban Oasis”

Children at East Rock Community Magnet School gathered in a field Monday to witness a ceremony that would certify a habitat right in their backyard as an urban oasis.

“We gather here today to see the results of months of hard work as we transform our schoolyard into a wonderful habitat for wildlife and an exciting learning environment for our students,” said Principal Peggy Pelley.

East Rock, which is on Nash Street in East Rock, is one of six schools across New Haven to have an outdoor habitat, and is the second school to receive a grant this year that allowed for them to create nature trails, rock and rain gardens, bird feeder stations, butterfly and songbird habitats and meadows with walking paths. Unveilings of urban habitats are also scheduled for Columbus Family Academy and Worthington Hooker and Edgewood Schools.

This is the second year East Rock has worked on greening its environs.

“Last year we decided to focus on a community garden,” Pelley said, ​“and this year we expanded it to a schoolyard habitat.”

Many people and organizations were involved in making this schoolyard habitat possible, including Audubon Connecticut, Common Ground, the Yale Peabody Museum, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as students and teachers at East Rock School.

“These new schoolyard habitats are a central part of the New Haven Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership – creating a matrix of ​‘urban oases’ across the city, designated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as one of the nation’s first urban refuges in fall 2013,” according to an organizational statement. ​“These urban oases provide habitat for migrating songbirds and other wildlife, improve human and watershed health, revitalize neighborhoods, increase knowledge about Long Island Sound and engage communities in conservation action.”

Teachers Samantha Pacelli, Jean Lawrence, Jennifer Tucker, Emily Phillips and Pepe Santorelli served on the East Rock Schoolyard Habitat Committee, and were responsible for coordinating the efforts to transform the field into an urban oasis.

Students at the school were asked to submit artwork that would serve as the poster for East Rock’s Schoolyard Habitat. Twenty-two students’ works of art were selected, making East Rock the school with the most original art on its poster.

“The kids are really part of this transformation,” said Melissa Gibbons, the Common Ground representative. ​“I think that will inspire them to want to learn more, because we are bringing in more wildlife and bringing in educators from Common Ground and Audubon to work with the teachers and students to show them how we can use this space.”

Students ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade participated in the ceremony, including a second-grade chorus, an original poem read by a seventh grader, and a clarinet duet performance of ​“Colors of the Wind.” It was clear that students from every age group were passionate and interested in their new schoolyard habitat.

“It’s wonderful to get students outside into the fresh air learning about their environment,” Pelley said. ​“What they learn in the garden and in the schoolyard habitat they’ll use to keep our world a much better place. It will give them a lot more opportunities to bring the students outside.”