The Rose Dodson Community STEM Program is a space for its students to grow and explore every aspect in the world around them — from science to math to technology to engineering.

However, the program’s third and fourth-grade students recently connected to their community by learning the importance of giving back in new ways, including agriculture.

The gym of the First Baptist Church of Bardstown was teeming with more than 50 third- and fourth-grade students ready to dive into the world of agriculture. An extension of a local non-profit, Our Commonwealth — and sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth — the program focuses on the importance of introducing STEM to students at an early age. Our Commonwealth Executive Director Kecia Copeland said an integral part of the program is providing new experiences for all students.

“We really wanted to introduce the kids to agriculture,” Copeland said. “That’s what Kentucky is about. We want them to see from the beginning how things grow, how things blossom, what we eat, how we eat.”

Cole Alexander and Ashley Stout with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth worked with the students as part of the recent program, with the duo showing students composting and a unique device to interact with plants. Alexander, a member of the Grounds Team at Nazareth, explained they were teaching about decomposition, with the students creating their own bedding of mycelium from living fungi to incorporate into wood chips and continue the decomposition process.

The duo also introduced the students to a device called Sound Wave that, through electrodes, can turn plants into sound.

“It uses water movement between cell membranes, the space between cells, and it translates that into an electrical current,” explained Stout, an AmeriCorps Volunteer working with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth’s Office of Ecological Sustainability.

Water moves through the cells as they photosynthesize, it translates that into sound waves, she said.

Through an app, the students were able to interact with a synthesizer and choose the style of sound they would hear from the plant. Both Stout and Alexander were eager to bring their interest in plants to the STEM program, each a firm believer in the impact of connecting with nature and the world around them.

“I feel like children are removed from agriculture and nature a lot these days,” Alexander said. “Finding new ways to connect our bodies to nature and also to show that we’re a part of that life cycle.”

Other community members were connecting with the students as well, introducing the Green Dot program. Misty Roller, Flaget Violence Prevention Program Manager, said the program is about teaching kids to create a space where violence is not OK.

Roller said one way to teach this idea to younger students is by showing kindness. They did this by showing gratitude.

“We’re going to dive deep into showing kindness has a ripple effect,” Roller said. “It changes the other around you. It might change their mood if you show kindness toward them. Showing kindness to others has a chain reaction.”

The group’s agriculture day coincided with their annual giveback project. The STEM program donated groceries to the First Baptist Food Bank, which services those in need every second and fourth Tuesday of the month.

Copeland said it’s important to allow students to get a look at why communities have food pantries and understand that need at a young age.

“It’s important to show kids that you can be part of a community, you can start it early,” Copeland said. “We want to show them early that they can be a volunteer in anything that they do, whether it’s school, whether it’s church. We want that culture.”

By Katelyn Norris
The Kentucky Standard Newspaper (Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024 edition, front page
Source: https://nazareth.org/

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