Students visited Maine Wildlife Park and the Wells Reserve

BY LEZLY PELLETIER, STAFF WRITER

Last week, Wildlife Biology and Nature Journalers students went to the Maine Wildlife Park with Ms. Lindsay Strout to see animals they’ve been studying all semester.

According to Strout, [they] had a lot of “first” and “wow” moments, “overall a great day!”

Last month, Sanford High School teacher Genevieve Trafelet brought her Marine Biology students to the Wells Reserve on a field trip. 

The Wells Natural Estuarine Research Reserve consists of 2,250 acres of fields, forests, marshlands, and beaches. Their goal is to research and preserve the land they protect while letting the public enjoy it.

Once at The Wells Natural Estuarine Research Reserve, the Marine Biology classes were brought to a private area on the marsh to experience hands-on research.

Ms. Trafelet worked with the Maine Timber Research & Environmental Education Foundation (TREE) to get a grant for the trip, allowing the students to visit free of charge. The TREE Foundation is dedicated to educating the public and protecting forests.

“I want my students to realize that science is more than just an old dude in the lab with a white coat and crazy hair,” explained Trafelet.

Some of the students on the trip also gave their opinion on the trip. “It was a healthy field trip for the kids to get out of the classroom for once,” one student said, “I thought it was a very enlightening experience.”

“I very much like the microscopic stuff. I had done that before, but I hadn’t seen anything like that before,” said another. For more information about the Wells Reserve, you can visit their website here, and for the TREE foundation you can learn more here.