HHS Students Take Walk Through Nature

Echo Rogers, Feature Writer
October 7, 2016

There’s a world too small for our eyes to see.

Newell studies the goldenrod he pulled from a plant on October 7, 2016. He looked for the tiny aphids that live on the plant . (Broadcaster/ Echo Rogers)
Newell studies the goldenrod he pulled from a plant on October 7, 2016. He looked for the tiny aphids that live on the plant . (Broadcaster/ Echo Rogers)

On October 7, 2016, Stephen Newell and Jason Ambler brought Hershey High School students together by introducing them to tiny insects under a microscope, native plants, and skulls and pelts of native animals. Newell is an Environmental Science teacher at HHS as well the advisor for Envirothon. Today, he wanted to pique the students’ interest in this subject.

Newell and Ambler took students out to the preserve between the staff parking lot and the football field. That area had been used to teach his Environmental Science classes. In his classes, the students would go out and mark crickets to study their population as well as study the plants. However, the field has been not well kept and due to sinkholes. Many think it’s not safe to walk there. That didn’t stop Newell and Ambler though from walking into the plants to show students milkweed, goldenrods, and the insects that live on those plants.

Inside the school they brought tiny insects under a dissection scope where the students could take a close look at the aphids and spittlebugs. They also laid out pelts and skulls of bobcats, deer, skunk, mink, coyote, and even turtle shells.

“We are interested in the topic, but I wouldn’t call us experts,” Newell explained to the class.

Ambler also found a red tail hawk on the walk. Students were able to use binoculars to look closely at this bird.

Newell runs a competition called Envirothon. This is a competition that tests five topic areas: Soils and Land Use, Aquatic Ecology, Forestry, Wildlife, and Environmental Issues. This club does not have set days they meet. However, anyone who is interested should contact Newell for more information.

According to the Envirothon website, “This exposure to nature and seeing how humans impact the natural world provide invaluable lessons for understanding ecosystems and our environment.”

Nick Silvis, HHS sophomore, attended the session and enjoyed it. “I thought it was very informative,” he said. “I am interested in learning about the environment.”