Sophomore Fiona Gully’s grandfather Sol Gully, an engineer and Childs River Restoration Project volunteer, was a guest lecturer in Scottie Mobley's 7th-grade sciences classes last Tuesday to prepare students for their field trip to the Waquoit watershed the next day. 

Accompanied by Class Advisor Ben Parsons and Humanities Teacher Patrick Kennedy, Mobley and her students spent Wednesday visiting and doing hands-on science at various locations in the watershed including  John’s Pond, the Childs River Restoration Project (CRR), Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (WBNERR), Bosun’s Marina, and Menauhant Beach. At each site, students took scientific measurements—water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity (salinity), and turbidity (clarity)— and sketched in their journals, which they’ll update throughout the year. ). At certain stops, Parsons and Kennedy made cross-curricular connections inviting students not only to make scientific observations but to consider the beauty and wonder around them through poetry and meditation.

Mobley began the year by teaching her students the scientific method. Then, they took to the field to make observations and collect data. “Watershed Day is the perfect bridge experience,” said Mobley. “They get to practice the fundamentals of the scientific method while appreciating the local ecology, which we’ll study next.” 

Members of the Childs River Restoration Project, including Gully, shared information about coldwater conservation. The CRR is rehabilitating the Upper Childs River in an effort to bring back brook trout and establish a fishery. While there, students saw the new benches and lookout area created by junior Ned Heywood ’23 for his Eagle Scout project. 

Next, they traveled to Farley Cranberry Bog, another CRR site. The abandoned bog is also being restored to wetlands to provide habitat for fish and wildlife.  “Yesterday, a biologist with the MA Division of Fisheries and Wildlife found brook trout, eels, and a frog by electrofishing,” said Gully, who noted that the water is now suitable for spawning.

After a full morning, the group stopped at the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (WBNERR) for lunch and to meet Education Director Joan Muller. She helped them conceptualize conservation efforts and human impact by using a watershed model. She explained that pollution elsewhere on the Cape seeps into the groundwater and travels through the watershed to the ocean. Measures to mitigate pollution include the revitalization of shellfish and eelgrass. Students ended their day at Menauhant Beach after a quick stop at Bosun’s boat launch.

Students are now back in the classroom analyzing their data and comparing it to historical data collected from previous watershed trips, extrapolating and hypothesizing about the future. “Through this analysis, I am hoping the students make the connections that what we do influences the world around us,” said Mobley.

Next week, students will join Lucy Nelson in the art room to create a batik on silk of a watershed of their own choosing as part of Falmouth Academy’s signature program, Arts-Across-the-Curriculum.