Sowing the seeds of learning

October 9, 2014

Sowing the seeds of learning

It’s not often that city kids calmly kneel before flowers and count bees and wasps. But the 21 students in Diane Corrigan’s 1st-grade class at PS 179 in Kensington did just that on a class trip to the Gateway National Recreation Area on Jamaica Bay in Queens on Oct. 9.

The students examine purple aster as PS 179 teacher Diane Corrigan (right) looks on. 

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Corrigan helps a student identify a flowering plant. 

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One of the 1st-graders with her grandmother, Sherlin Valle. Elders are invited to share their own experiences in the natural world with the students. 

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One of the students takes a census of the bees and wasps observed by her team. 

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A monarch butterfly takes a rest before continuing on its long journey south for the winter. 

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The students remove the seeds from the milkweed pods for later planting. The bay’s monarch butterflies depend on the milkweed for nutrition. 

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The children examine the milkweed seeds under a microscope.

Miller Photography

The students examine purple aster as PS 179 teacher Diane Corrigan (right) looks on. 

Miller Photography

Corrigan helps a student identify a flowering plant. 

Miller Photography

One of the 1st-graders with her grandmother, Sherlin Valle. Elders are invited to share their own experiences in the natural world with the students. 

Miller Photography

One of the students takes a census of the bees and wasps observed by her team. 

Miller Photography

A monarch butterfly takes a rest before continuing on its long journey south for the winter. 

Miller Photography

The students remove the seeds from the milkweed pods for later planting. The bay’s monarch butterflies depend on the milkweed for nutrition. 

Miller Photography

The children examine the milkweed seeds under a microscope.

Miller Photography