Bel Air Middle School Students Win Ecology Competition

From Harford County Public Schools: The Bel Air Middle School ecology club, Panthers for the Planet, recently won first place in the Caring For Our Watersheds competition for the Chesapeake Bay region, which spanned across four states and involved high school and middle school proposals from hundreds of teams.

Thirteen students were involved in the writing of the proposal (see names below), and four students, Mia Castellano, Ahrean Chung, Olivia Forties, and Emma Ingram, presented in the final round to a panel of judges on April 22.

The team, led by Erin Baker and Kristie Smith, won $1,000 in prize money in addition to funding for the project. They proposed a four-step action plan called "Turbidity Terminators," which involves the establishment of a bird-scaped low mow zone, installment of rain barrels, participation in the creation of oyster reef balls, and schoolwide communication about the topic.

The low mow zone is already underway, and the Panthers for the Planet are excited to continue positively impacting the BAMS ecosystem!

Congratulations, Panthers for the Planet and Bel Air Middle School!

Panthers for the Planet: Caroline Bates, Deborah Cai, Mia Castellano, Ahrean Chung, Layla Davidoff, Olivia Forties, Emma Ingram, Hannah Kim, Isabella Love, Lily Orsburn, Bella Rice, Jack Rutledge, Emma Shook.