Bronx Public School 126, Dr. Marjorie H. Dunbar

March 3rd – May 23rd, 2014
Bronx, NY

The second-grade students of P.S. 126 in Bronx, NY have big plans for this spring. These young members of the Highbridge community are going to adopt trees in the nearby Nelson Park and over the course of their school semester they will complete a series of observations of the birds that frequent their tree.

The students will keep a bird journal where they’ll record notes, drawings, questions, and information about birds that they see, and after weeks of conducting these observations these journals will be compared and organized into a report that students will share at a presentation in Nelson Park in late May.

In addition to the journals, students will also create bird nests from natural materials found on nature walks, which they’ve already started collecting. They are already very excited about the event and will soon be drawing and sketching plans of their nests. which eventually will go on display in classrooms. Photos will be featured on a blog that will share the second graders’ progress over the semester.

This should be an excellent way to expose and educate kids on the importance of urban birds, their habitats, and behaviors, and we look forward to sharing updates from this project over the next several months!

Update:

In late April, students had the opportunity to investigate owl pellets! This type of activity is great because it allows participants to explore real fur and bones and figure out what the raptors’ diet is like through scientific inquiry and patient examination. Check out the slideshow of photos by Veronica Horton below.

Explore more 'Events' and 'Mini-grants'