Monica Wright will share her students’ Green Crab Student Research on Thursday, Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Popham Library as one of the “Summer Series” talks.

Ms. Wright’s hands-on approach to learning has earned the Bath Middle School science teacher statewide recognition: she received the Maine Environmental Education Association’s 2017 Eberhard Thiele Environmental Educator Award, for her work on ecology inside and outside the classroom.

Her current ecology curriculum really took off in 2013, after reports of the quickly increasing green crab population. She decided to use the invasive species as part of her ecology curriculum and was helped by the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust through the Vital Signs project, a website designed to help middle school students engage in citizen science. Thus, BMS students now conduct real research and provide data that other scientists can use to address the green crab scourge as well as the spread of red algae.

Ms Wright said that using real world research is more engaging for her students than some of the traditional teaching methods. Her students are excited to see their work have a real impact on the world around them. Not only are her students learning about invasive species, ecology, cellular structure and microscopes, they’re providing important data to coastal communities.

Everyone is invited to attend this program brought to you by PBIA, The Popham Beach Improvement Association, in conjunction with the library. For more information, please stop by the library at 965 Popham Road, Phippsburg or contact Barbara Ketonic at bkeltonic@gmail.com