Cloquet Students Take Classroom Learning To The River

CLOQUET, Minn. — Cloquet students took what they have learned in the classroom to the outdoors on Wednesday.

It all happened at the St. Louis River. 7th grade science class students got to collect macroinvertebrates which are little bugs using a net. That will then tell them what water quality the river is. Another group got to test water chemistry looking at different indicators to see if the stream is healthy or not.

“I think a lot of kids don’t realize this awesome natural resource that we have which is the St. Louis River, right in their backyards. Some of them haven’t actually been to the river and so, it’s a huge experience for them. It’s important I think to get the hands-on part and the experience. You just can’t make that up in a classroom setting,” said Farrah Grimm, 7th grade science teacher.

One student got to touch a crayfish for the first time. She says taking learning outside has been memorable.

“It’s good to know how clean our water is and it’s good learn about like the bugs that help keep our water safe and like knowing how dirty it is,” said Sophia Cawcutt, 7th grader at Cloquet Middle School.

To make this happen teachers participated in an education program at the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve. They receive mentoring from staff that they can bring to their students.