Woods offer life lessons to students

Karen Sackowitz

With summer in full swing, 9-year-old Julia Matos is spending her vacation playing with friends and swimming in her pool. The relaxation is well-deserved, following a school year that included plenty of class work and some serious manual labor.

Matos is one of 40 fourth-grade students from Bagnall Elementary School in Groveland who worked to spruce up more than a mile and a half of hiking trails that run through Meadow Pond, an open-space area located off of Uptack Road. The trail work was part of a larger, yearlong service learning project created by teacher Hilary Seager.

“I was interested in the Outward Bound model — the link between classroom and community service, and getting kids out into the community,’’ Seager said.

She She enlisted the help of fellow fourth-grade teacher Barbara Duda. The two then approached the Groveland Open Space and Trails Committee, which approved their plan to do service work on town trails.

To learn about trail creation and maintenance, the students took field trips to Bradley Palmer State Park in Hamilton and Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in Topsfield, where trail supervisors taught them about topics ranging from designing switchbacks to keeping trails environmentally sound. Next, using equipment provided to them through a grant from the Bagnall Education Foundation, they put their knowledge to work.

“We visited Groveland’s Town Forest, Veasey Park, and Meadow Pond,’’ said Seager. “The kids learned how to use measuring wheels and compasses to create rudimentary maps.’’

While doing their work, the group determined that Meadow Pond needed the most attention. The area had no trail signs, no map, and many residents didn’t even know it existed. The students decided to change all of that.

Between fall and spring, they studied different types of maps and participated in classroom discussions about which types of symbols and layouts worked best. They researched Groveland town history, finding notable figures after whom they would name trails.

In the early spring, the physical work began.

“After the winter storms, there were trees down, huge pine trees uprooted, branches snapped,’’ Seager said. “Thankfully some of the dads helped out with chainsaws to get the large things out of the way.’’

Once the clearing was complete, the building began, with the help of parent volunteers. Wood was donated by Jackson Lumber, while grants from New England Biolabs and the Groveland Conservation Commission and donations from local businesses rounded out the funding.

Over the course of four weekly trips to Meadow Pond, the group worked to build one bridge and four boardwalks through the muddier areas, rerouting some trails that had been heavily damaged by all-terrain vehicles.

“The hardest part was carrying four-by-sixes through the woods and across the trails,’’ said 10-year-old Sam Hubbard, one of Seager’s students. “The cars were only allowed at the entrance so we had to walk everything in.’’

“The kids really put in maximum effort and they never complained,’’ said Deb Matos, Julia’s mother and a parent volunteer on the project. “This wasn’t just working on flat land; they were going up hills, around branches, all over.’’

In addition to the bridge and boardwalks, the students installed 23 numbered sign posts marking the trails. Each post had to be planted using stone dust, which was also lugged into the woods by the young crew via wheelbarrow. By the end of each work day, the children were beat.

“I went right to bed on those days,’’ said Julia Morrissey, 10.

Throughout the project, the students learned about teamwork and communication, and picked up measuring, mapping, and building skills. But there was also an unexpected lesson that came as a result of a setback.

“On one very hot day, we had to fix several sign posts that had been damaged by vandals,’’ said Deb Matos. “The kids were all bothered by it; they really took it to heart.’’

After discussion and more hard work, the damage was erased, but Matos said that as a parent, she saw the experience as a lasting life lesson.

“They got the full picture of the impact that one person’s actions can make,’’ she said. “I would bet that now, not only will none of them take part in vandalism, they wouldn’t let a friend do it either.’’

With the project now complete, the town of Groveland has a tremendously improved recreational area, thanks to the efforts of some of its youngest residents. As for the students, they walked away with their own favorite memories.

“The most fun part was getting dirty and having my feet in the mud,’’ said Hubbard.

And some have advice for future young trailblazers.

“In the winter, wear snow boots,’’ said Julia Matos. “In the spring, don’t wear flip flops!’’

What they all share, thanks to the brainchild of their teacher, is pride in a job well done and hard work recognized.

“I learned that if you put your mind to something, you can do it,’’ said Morrissey.

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Source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2010/07/25/groveland_fourth_graders_put_lessons_to_work_improving_a_recreation_area/

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