field trip

An Enlightening Outdoor Experience 

/ Jason Major / Leave a comment

On June 1st, 2023, 4th- and 5th-graders from St. Peter School walked to Salter Grove accompanied by three teachers and five 8th-grade honor students. 

Students and teachers from St. Peter School

During the 90-minute visit, information from the Guide to Salter Grove was accessed by smartphone to to explore and learn about the ecological assets of the park. 

Talking about what will be seen on the nature trails. 

Science topics discussed in the classroom came to life for students and teachers alike. 

Students recorded observations in journals.

Organized into small groups, they walked along nature trails to observation stations that featured examples of: glacial history and geology of Rhode Island; native versus introduced plants; impact of invasive plants; different kinds of aquatic and terrestrial habitats; tolerance of marsh plants to brackish water; and human impact on the environment. 

Examining glacial striations along Upland Trail. 

And all this, from just six of 23 observation stations! 

Inside the knotweed jungle. 

Dr. Susan Unger, the science teacher who organized this field trip, would like to continue using Salter Grove as an outdoor classroom. Future field trips would focus on fewer topics so students can dive more deeply into the subject matter. Instead of simply noting down observations, they could collect data to answer specific questions formulated during classroom discussion. 

See more photos from the St. Peter School field trip below:

(Photos by FoSG member Jason Major)

St. Peter Pupils Back Again for Field Trips!

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The spring field trip to Salter Grove has become an annual event for the science program at St. Peter School. This year the new science teacher, Annie Graham, organized and led field trips for the second and fifth grades. On the morning of May 18, she was joined by the second grade teacher Nancy Dunlap and parents Jonathan Alvarez, Mike Jarvis (FoSG member), and Alicia Oldzewski to guide 25 students through 5 ecosystems. The trip for 25 fifth-graders, who came as fourth-graders in 2017, was in the afternoon of May 21 and included the fifth-grade teacher Christina Desmairis and parent Dawn Jarvis.

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St. Peter Students Explore Salter Grove on a Field Trip

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IMG_0305Susan Unger and Megan Kane brought 24 fourth graders from St. Peter School to Salter Grove on Friday, May 12 to observe and draw wild animals and plants in their respective habitats. Small groups of students fanned out into the different habitats of the park supervised by their teachers, and FoSG members Peter Becker, Michael Jarvis, and Marina Wong.

“One student said that it was the best field trip he ever had because he was free to explore anywhere he wanted.”

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Junior Scientists Study Salter Grove

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Students from St. Peter School test the salinity of Salter Grove's waters, May 23, 2016

Students from St. Peter School test the salinity of Salter Grove’s waters, May 23, 2016

On May 23, 2016 the fourth- and fifth-grade students from St. Peter School in Warwick visited Salter Grove with their teachers to learn about interactions of plants and animals with their environment and explore the many different natural ecosystems of the park. It was a great way to learn about nature and how to conduct scientific work “in the field.”  Below are some photos from the day’s events taken by FoSG member Jason Major.

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