Sandy Point State Park Hosts Md. Green School Summit
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) --Students in an ambitious school program took a field trip Friday... all 4,000 of them.
Alex DeMetrick reports it was the perfect setting, after a year spent studying the great outdoors.
There was plenty of space to be a kid at Sandy Point State Park. That's a good thing when 4,000 showed up for the Second Annual Green School Summit.
"The school has to do projects in different best management practices," said Joanne Schmader, Green Schools coordinator. "So energy reduction, solid waste reduction, installing habitat."
But that classwork is more hands-on here. Whether it was tracing the Chesapeake Bay's massive watershed, from mountains to backyards...
"When it storms and you leave something in your yard, and it rains, all of it goes into drains. Then it goes into the bay and then it can hurt the animals," said Jennifer Long, student.
Or meeting animals that have been rescued...
"She couldn't get her own food. She couldn't live in the wild. She needed a human to live," said another student.
Workshops are staged to make an impression.
"We're just learning about the different animal sand, how the worms poop," said a student.
"We got to touch a small a small boa constrictor," said another. "It was really cool."
The end result of a day like this is a little knowledge and maybe some appreciation that may just last a lifetime.
"It's really fun," said Ciara Albittian, student. "I'm enjoying the beach and the breeze. And just learning about how we can keep the Earth and our environment better while enjoying it today."
The turnout at Sandy Point was so large because there are currently 398 green schools in Maryland.
