DaytonDailyNews.com

BROOKVILLE — The school district's largest classroom cost very little and is used by nearly every class.

Just west of the high school on the district's campus are six acres, much of which is prairie grass and wetlands. It was originally planned as a retention pond surrounded by grass, which the district would have to maintain.

In 2003, before the new high school/intermediate school was built, the administration approached science teacher Cindy Tucci.

"Did we want a land lab? Of course we did," she said with a laugh. "But there wasn't any money for it."

Tucci and other teachers and staff members, including maintenance, formed a committee to see how it could be done.

"It was an opportunity for our students to observe life cycles on a large scale," Tucci said.

"You are really involved with nature," said junior Sarah Davenport of her time in the land lab. "It's hands-on learning."

But that didn't get the land lab built.

MetroParks planted the prairie grass; Career Technology Center students laid out a loop trail; a Boy Scout built a bridge for the trail; and an anonymous foundation gave a significant grant for a solar-powered shelter.

Local businesses donated everything from concrete to heavy equipment for grading and piping for drainage to trees.

The site is used by kindergarten through high school students. Agricultural classes have been out to identify weeds and practice erosion prevention. Math classes have used the site to get experience in basic geometry. Science classes have a multitude of opportunities to apply what they learn in the classroom — whether it's checking the chemistry of runoff or learning about spider webs or identifying micro ecosystems.

"We have three distinct runoff areas that drain into the lab — a traditional housing plat, a 'green' housing development and farm fields," Tucci said. "Students can analyze the water from each as it reaches the site to compare them. Then they can test the water as it leaves the site after its been filtered by the prairie grass and wetlands."

And it's proven an ideal site for chemistry demonstrations involving chemical reactions that can shoot plastic bottles into the air.

"Research shows those are the kinds of lessons students remember" and the science behind them, Tucci said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2290 or dpage@DaytonDaily

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