Smithtown's Accompsett MS Students Learn About Environmental Protection

SMITHTOWN, NY — Accompsett Middle School sixth-graders got a lesson in how the Town of Smithtown is working to protect the environment courtesy of town employee Nicole Garguilo, who returned to her roots, the Smithtown Central School District announced in a news release.

Garguilo, a former ninth-grade student in the same school building, works in the Town of Smithtown’s supervisor’s office. She was joined by town colleague Brian Farrell at the school last week.

They delved into the water cycle and how the local area is one of only 12 places in the entire United States that relies on groundwater for its drinking water. The visit was part of a continuing STEM partnership between the Town of Smithtown and the school district.

Garguilo explained that at Accompsett Middle School, it’s required to dig roughly 100 feet to find an aquifer — the underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock. She noted that any of the students and their families can go to the U.S. Geological Survey website and type their address and then discover precisely how deep it’s required to dig to find drinking water.

Garguilo invited the students to be a solution to stormwater pollution. She distributed an information sheet that notes that when it rains, everything on the ground seeps into our drinking water or washes into storm drains that lead to our streams, ponds, the Nissequogue River and Long Island Sound. Students learned that it’s important for their families to use fertilizer sparingly, never dump anything down storm drains, compost yard waste and always pick up after pets.

She also discussed environmentally friendly products, such as those with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Choice label.

The town also offers a program to receive non- environmentally friendly substances to be disposed of in a safe manner three times a year.