Interdisciplinary Learning: Students Investigate the Past to Protect the Future of Sauquoit Creek

This powerful unit began as a simple creek water sampling project and has grown into a cross-curricular deep dive, using the Sauquoit Creek's own history — and a famous NYM ancestor — to teach students about human impact, resource protection and climate change.

The project centers on Charles Walcott, a foundational U.S. scientist and grandson of a NYM founder, who got his start playing in the Sauquoit Creek. By studying Walcott and the creek's history (including over a century of industrial pollution), students understand how their local environment changed and is currently recovering.

The unit ties directly to global issues. While Ms. Vanno’s seventh-grade ELA students read “A Long Walk to Water,” Ms. Foote’s chemistry students conducted real-world research at the creek, collecting macroinvertebrates and performing chemical tests. Additionally, Art Teacher Mr. Davies joined the field trip to teach students how to draw a scientific model using a viewing device and perspective, emphasizing that visual modeling skills are vital in scientific communication.

This unique, locally sourced curriculum helps students see that their clean water in NY Mills is an incredible resource they must protect. The final assignment challenges students to become active citizens, writing letters to the mayor or a scientific essay based on their data and findings.