One morning in late July, on a former camp in Fairview, a group of eighth graders went out looking for animals around three bodies of water. In a pool of standing water, they discovered wriggling tadpoles. They learned that frogs seek out this kind of deep puddle, where there are no fish to eat the young. In the grassy bank nearby, they even found a nest of baby bunnies! Next, the teenagers walked to the camp lake and combed through wads of slippery weeds, looking for tiny insects. They learned that the animals living in the water can tell you if the lake is clean and safe for swimming. Finally, they explored a stream and discovered crayfish—like tiny lobsters scampering in the clear water.

One thing they learned—led by Rose Wall, an environmental educator with Buncombe County Soil and Wa

See Full Page