Three-Tiered Wetlands

Our partners for this outdoor classroom are US Forest Service, Jacksonville State University, & Alabama Power. As the run-off water from the school building and grounds goes through the swamp, it ends up in our three-tier wetland (pond) system. As one pond fills, we open a valve to allow the water to go to the next pond until it ends up in the back holding pond. The US Forest Service funded the board walks and bought the fishing poles. Jacksonville State University has helped us electroshock the pond to see what fish live there and Alabama Power gave us $1,000 to purchase native trees to provide shade and habitat for local bird species. Our science teachers do many research projects on water quality, wetland plant life and wildlife habitats, and tadpole research. Our environmental science classes are collecting tadpoles from the middle pond and transplanting them into the frog pond. The back pond contains fish like bream, crappie, bass and a few catfish. On Fridays, our Environmental Science classes, which include some of the members of our fishing team, come out and fish. They record what they catch, record their length and weight and identify the species. Last year, our fishing team would practice out there. It was our first year to have a fishing team and they finished 8th in the state championship.