The Erin K. Johnson Memorial Fund recently donated $1000 to support students at Machetanz Elementary in the Mat-Su Borough School District. With teacher and community support, students at this STEM school have been learning to become citizen scientists by being involved in learning to identify birds and complete surveys for a local project in cooperation with the University of Alaska and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. It is called “Bird and Bogs”. This project looks at trends in a select number of species in area wetlands in south-central Alaska. The project has been very successful and students monitor Reflections Lake in the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge.
Machetanz Elementary has been involved for a number of years but they were borrowing a set of binoculars from Alaska Department of Fish & Game. This became very limiting because the binoculars are in demand by educators and not readily available to teachers for use. For students to be successful, students at Machetanz needed regular practice with multiple classes.
The Fund helped support purchasing enough binoculars for the school so that a class of students could share with one partner. Good,, quality, bird identification books were also purchased and used by all of the classes participating in the surveys ( 5th graders) and those students who are practicing and learning so that when they are 5th graders, they can take over this responsibility.
Students were thrilled to get to use both the binoculars and bird identification books multiple times and now they can use them and become familiar with both through the school year.
Way to go, students and teachers! The Erin K. Johnson Fund Board is proud to encourage young scientists involved in citizen science! We appreciate donors who continue to contribute to help make these donations possible! Erin became keenly interested in birds in 3rd grade and it became a lifelong interest of hers. We hope many of these students become drawn to nature and the wonderful world of birds too.
There is no question that there are a lot more students who are now much more aware of birds, their behaviors, their calls, and how to identify them. This appreciation, connection, and understanding of the natural world is needed more than ever in today’s world.
