Clear Spring School receives two grants for beekeeping program

The Clear Spring School received two grants to support and expand their beekeeping program. A grant from the Whole Kids Foundation “Bee Cause” program supported the costs of moving the bees to our new hands-on learning campus and provided funding for new fencing and a pollinator garden. As part of the Bee Cause grant the school received an extensive packet of curriculum for our educational project. An additional grant from the Arkansas Game & Fish - Conservation Education Grant Program has provided funding for additional child size bee suits, garden beds, and the materials to build two additional bee hives. “Clear Spring has had the program for a few years but the last two years we have had the benefit of a professional beekeeper, Bethany Ellen Smith of Sedge and Bee Apiary to help us work with students and teachers” said Head of School, Jessica FitzPatrick. This year Bethany will be teaching beekeeping classes at the school as part of our expanded hands-on learning and outdoor education program. “We are very excited to have Bethany’s expertise, and are looking forward to finishing the bee garden so we can move the bees later this fall. Construction has begun on the new fenced-in garden and it should be finished by the start of school on September 15th ”commented FitzPatrick.

River Studies Program at Clear Spring School Receives two Grants

Clear Spring School received two outdoor education grants that funded naturalist, Juanita Crider’s River Studies project.   The Nature Conservancy and Kings River Watershed Partnership grants, co-funded the “River Studies” program, as this year’s primary science block for middle and high school students.  River studies was a comprehensive curriculum focused specifically on the “health” of our local streams and rivers. The course offered hands-on activities including bug kits to identify invertebrates that can indicate the health of our waterways, and water testing sampling to look for potential pollutants or changes in water quality. 

High School students collecting water and macroinvertebrate samples

According to Crider, “We assessed the physical, chemical, and biological parameters of Mill Branch Creek and multiple locations on the Kings River.  The physical component taught students how to subjectively evaluate each habitat and riparian zone. The biological assessment taught students how to collect macroinvertebrates and identify if the species were tolerant, sensitive, or somewhat sensitive to pollution. Once all three assessments were complete, the students had a holistic view of the water quality at each specific location.”  In addition, both groups of students were required to prepare a presentation for the Kings River Partnership Annual Meeting which has been postponed because of social distancing criteria.  Jessica FitzPatrick comments “that we hope the students will still have an opportunity to present their findings as they all worked very hard to prepare their research.”  The school will be presenting the artwork and water studies projects to the parents and school community digitally on their website and in their upcoming digital newsletter.