March 2, 2023
For the next six weeks, students are involved in work-based learning with LTWLA and Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District. The first three weeks will be in the classroom, where students will learn more about Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District. Currently, they are learning about natural resources and how to protect them. They will have experiences with rain gardens, environmental impact on local watersheds, drinking and groundwater, local wildlife that depend on our rivers and streams, the impact of climate change, and wetland restoration. Students fully enrolled in LTWLA are getting paid for their work; however, all students in College and Career Composition are participating for a grade.
The last three weeks, students will be in the field doing field experience, counting invertebrates, and understanding how healthy different watersheds are in our area. This is in partnership with Lead the Way Learning Academy alongside with Franklin Soil and Water, Franklin County Natural Resources, and Ohio EPA. We will visit a water treatment plant, the Museum of Biological Diversity to look at different fish species; Highbanks park, Blacklick, Darby, and Three Creeks to test water and count insects. Through this, students are not only learning about natural resources, and water quality, but also learning to do timesheets, and learning that they will not get paid if they show up tardy, don't participate, or miss work.