Congratulations to Margie Brennan for being selected as the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators (PIAEE) Winners for EPA Region 1. Please read the press release and below is the article on Margie and recognizing all of her accomplishments
EPA Region 1
Margaret Brennan
Portsmouth Middle School
Portsmouth, Rhode Island
At Portsmouth Middle School in Rhode Island, Mrs. Brennan who is the Science Coach for K-8, has integrated the environment and outdoor learning into the school's community. Her proudest accomplishment is the creation of a student-led farm called Portsmouth AgInnovation.
In 2020 Mrs. Brennan met with Sara Churgin, the Eastern RI Conservation District Manager, to improve her students’ education through outdoor learning. A farmer down the road gifted 6 acres of land to be used for educational purposes. At that time, it was an empty plot of land next to a pond. She introduced it as project-based learning and showed the kids the blank area and asked what they wanted to do. Then Covid happened and shut down the schools. Mrs. Brennan decided to run a virtual after-school program and 25 students signed up. Over 8 weeks, the kids brainstormed, researched, and created a vision based on five areas of interest: a garden area, a high tunnel, a solar energy area, an irrigation area, and a chicken area.
Mrs. Brennan and her partner wrote multiple grants and by June 2022, the students' vision was built and completed. AgInnovation Farm engages with 75 students each year at the middle and now High school and is preparing to offer educational field trips to students hoping to work on the farm for hands-on learning.
Mrs. Brennan established an amazing outdoor educational facility that is student-based and hands-on. Critical thinking and problem-solving are necessary and students are taught to analyze the problem and find a solution. If it does not work, they learn the engineering design process which is to then rethink and reimagine until it's the way they want it.
Mrs. Brennan has been sure to balance learning with fun at the Portsmouth AgInnovation Farm. She balanced daily chores, for example, with fun activities. Students learned how to fish in the nearby reservoir, drive a tractor, build irrigation systems, and pollinate certain vegetables. Mrs. Brennan also taught students about soil health, covering everything from photosynthesis to composting to carbon sequestering. Furthermore, as part of her vision to merge sustainability with community, students donate the produce to two of the local food pantries and shelters.
In addition to sounding the alarm about environmental concerns, Mrs. Brennan’s farm has united the community by integrating students with various socioeconomic backgrounds and learning styles. For students with social struggles, the farm has been an opportunity to find their sense of belonging, and many have gained a newfound confidence that will aid them beyond the farm’s borders. In addition, parents are encouraged to participate with their children through their own sustainability plots, and students at Thompson Middle School—an inner-city school with many free and reduced-lunch students—visit during the summer to learn how to plant and grow their own vegetables.
Mrs. Brennan believes that outdoor learning is the best way to engage her students, and the results at the Portsmouth AgInnovation Farm can support that belief. Through her work, students are not only learning how to help the environment but also interacting with other students and their communities through unprecedented, hands-on collaboration.
This spring, she and her partners plan to get the farm fully operational. Students will help build a pollinator garden pathway, plant fruit trees, and work with the high school in creating a unique no-till method of farming. They will also continue to work with a team from the PHS Career and Technical Education pathway of Engineering to design and build a solar-powered rain catchment system for irrigation in the High tunnel. The SmART kids created beautiful new birdhouses around the property.
In the high tunnel production students will learn about different methods of food production from raised beds, vertical beds, and hydroponic systems. Students added an additional chicken coop for new baby chicks (grade 8 hatched 10) and built a new bunny hutch for a potential 4-H collaboration.
Building this farm with her students, Mrs. Brennan has seen an increased sense of excitement from the students to learn and more collaboration with local non-profits to build on environmental collaboration. She has worked with 10 of these agencies to connect to one grade level from K-8. Together with a lead teacher, they have embedded the local environmental interests with their science curriculum. Students are then engaged in a field trip to that place or in-class education. An example of this is grade 2 where students learned about the diversity of life in different habitats. They will then go to the Audobon Society Learning Center in the spring to hike and learn firsthand. Last, Mrs. Brennan introduced Green Engineering and the process and resources needed to make something in several grades. She used the Museum of Science units which incorporated reading, writing, and engineering.