Floating Classroom: Estuary Is Living Lab for Connecticut Kids

Covering some 52,000 acres, the new Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve protects a vast swath of some of the last undeveloped Long Island Sound coastline. Here, fresh water from rivers and streams mixes with ocean tides, creating an estuary.

Safeguarding these brackish waters means safeguarding important nursery grounds for migratory fish—and a living laboratory for area students. Teacher Kathy Howard and her classes from Marine Science Magnet High School in the town of Groton rely on the estuary as an open-air classroom and an inspiration for the next generation of scientists and conservationists. “I think that we have a lot of students that are starting to recognize, hey, you can do this.,” Kathy says. “You can make the change.”

For more on the Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve, see the full story in Trust magazine, “Where Rivers Meet the Sea”: https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/trust/archive/spring-2022/where-rivers-meet-the-sea

TRANSCRIPT
Kathy Howard: I don't remember not being comfortable in the water, I grew up on Long Island Sound, and once I was old enough to get to the water by myself, it was really hard to keep me out of it. I think I'm part fish. I'm Kathy Howard. I'm marine science Magnet High school teacher in Groton, Connecticut. We're focusing particularly in the science area on marine, ocean science as well as aquaculture, and that theme we use to tie together with Long Island Sound, which is our local estuary just down the road from us. We have students that come from all different backgrounds. Some have very little experience with water at all. We actually opened our doors about 11 years ago, And so we just are doing our best to fulfill that original intent, which was, bring students closer to the shore and utilize that environment as a classroom. What we’re going to be doing today is we’re going to a smaller version of a river that flows into Long Island Sound.
Damion (student): We’re sampling the water and seeing what fish are here at the moment – so that we can see how diverse it is and how healthy it is.
Alexia (student): Class it’s pretty good but it’s like not compared to being out here because you actually get to interact with like the environment.
Kathy Howard: Long Island Sound has actually been an estuary with national significance for quite a while. It’s a really important nursery grounds for migratory fish, it's not a very large estuary, but it has a lot of human population around it. This designation of the National Estuarine Reserve here in Connecticut provides a better way to let public education know that we need to incorporate this into our classrooms to make sure that science is being funded in order to maintain and continue monitoring.
Long Island Sound really got a lot of attention scientifically when it became obvious that there was a lot of harm being done. It's becoming a success story. Things are getting better to the point where aquaculture is coming back and becoming very strong which just gives us more reason to keep going. The science that you do in the classroom needs to be connected to why it's important outside of the classroom. Project oceanology is a non-profit organization that actually was started by the local school systems who wanted to have access to Long Island Sound to use us as part of their education. And it continues to this day – 50 years, this year. Each boat can carry up to 50 students with two instructors. They're literally built to be movable classrooms.
Kathy Howard: Making those links is really only possible for them if they can touch the things, and feel the things, and see how they actually are connected.
Gabby (student): It's awesome. Like, I come here every year.
It always gives me happiness, like seeing certain animals come up. Like today, we just saw a skate. We had one in our marine biology class, but I've never got to hold it. And I just got to hold it, and that just rocked my day. It was amazing.
Kathy Howard: I think that we have a lot of students that are starting to recognize, hey, you can do this. You can make the change.
Gabby: I kind of want to do an animal rehabilitation for marine animals, like for sea turtles and sea lions. That's like my thing. I love marine animals.
Kathy Howard: My goal for any student that I come in contact with would be to leave with a true understanding that the oceans and humans are connected and there's no way to separate the two.
To have a student who has never had that personal experience of touching a live fish try for the first time. The eyes brighten up, and their ideas start flowing, That's that lifelong learning piece, that Science is being done so that what we learn in the lab can be processed and utilized out in the community and out in the world. It's awesome to see them wanting to explore and being excited to come back, even if they got wet. They come back, and they say they're bored. But I saw the excitement. I know. I know better.

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