West Liberty-Salem Local School District

The 8th grade biology class recently explored characteristics of various trees around campus and in the land lab. They looked at leaf arrangement, alternate and opposite, smooth and lobed leaf margins, and discussed the purpose of goldenrod and milkweed in an ecosystem. Students utilized their iPad camera to document photos of each tree for more in depth study in the class room.  The land lab is located on the south side of the WLS campus and is maintained by Mr. Dan Shover, maintenance director.  The lab serves many purposes for our students and most importantly is used for discovery based learning for every grade.  Part of the land lab includes the Mad River Watershed.  A few highlights of life forms found there are orb weavers, edible water cress, milk weed, worm habitats, and golden rod galls.  The land lab will be used for other projects throughout the year including a trout release, organized by our Ag department, in the spring.  Stay tuned!