Cypress Creek Elementary Collaborates With Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center

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Cypress Creek Elementary Collaborates With Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center

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Ruskin, FL

During the month of November, Cypress Creek Elementary School conducted the first in a series of Saturday Academies. The theme of the experiences for students in grades 3-5 were science investigations. The first Saturday Academy was conducted at Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center on 24th Street in Ruskin. Camp Bayou is a partnership between the Ruskin Community Development Foundation and The Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation Department. Alomst 100 students arrived to investigate what environmental conditions promote the health and well being of the gopher tortoise which is a species of special concern. Teachers from Cypress Creek and Dolly Cummings from Camp Bayou rotated the students through stations that investigated the activity level of several gopher tortoise burrows, utilized GPS units to locate the burrows, and participated in activities to teach the concept of competition among animals and people over environmental habitat resources.

The second Saturday Academy was held at Cypress Creek Elementary School. Teachers conducted a wide range of investigations using school facilities. The third Academy was held again at Camp Bayou. Students again rotated among four stations. The theme this time was our watershed. Students learned about point and non-point polution, how our watershed is affected by humans, they used GPS units again, and netted in the river to gauge for water quality and "Critter" populations. The next series of Saturday Academies for Cypress Creek will be conducted in late January and early February of this school year.

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