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Launching An Interest In Nature

Tribune photo by JAMIE PILARCZYK

Taliah Compton, a Macfarlane Park fifth-grader, inspects a water strider using a microscope. The trip Jan. 15 helped students learn about water quality, wildlife and Florida habitats.

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By JAMIE PILARCZYK

jpilarczyk@tampatrib.com

Published: January 28, 2009

CRYSTAL SPRINGS - Fallen leaves crunched beneath shoes of the 48 students as they kept their eyes peeled, looking for wildlife.

The Macfarlane Park Elementary fifth-graders and Stewart Middle sixth-graders were hiking through Crystal Springs Preserve on Jan. 15, learning about water quality, wildlife and Florida habitats.

"It's one of the prettiest places I've ever seen," said fifth-grader Shivam Sanghani of the 525-acre sanctuary in southeastern Pasco County. The preserve is home to its namesake, Crystal Springs, which discharges 40 million gallons of water daily and is a primary source of the Hillsborough River.

The field trip was part of a NASA-supported program called From the Source to the Sea in which mentors teach children science, technology, aerospace and reading skills.

The outing at Crystal Springs Preserve was the first of three excursions during which the children will examine water quality and make other environmental observations. In April they will take water samples from the Hillsborough River near their central Tampa schools. And in May they will travel to Fort DeSoto Park in south Pinellas County.

Malcolm Gibbs, a science and research teacher at Stewart Middle, said the fieldwork gives students a deeper understanding of the subject.

"They get an appreciation for the environment," Gibbs said. "When I ask them, 'Whose job is it to take care of the river?' When we've been out here, I'm more likely to get the answer, 'It's my job.'"

TBO Keyword: Crystal Springs Preserve to see an audio slideshow. Reporter Jamie Pilarczyk can be reached at (813) 259-7661.

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