BACK TO THE FUTURE

PAT LITOWITZ
plitowitz@ncnewsonline.com

The white walnut tree sprouted along the creek's bank more than 50 years ago.

As Shenango Township developed, nearby swamp lands were filled and a shopping center constructed. With trees and fields of wildflowers leveled, schools, a football stadium and ball fields rose in their stead.

The creek lost its simple elegance and slowly transformed into a watery waste pit. The tapestry of nature was coming undone.

Somehow, the white walnut tree avoided the bulldozer, weathered disease and co-existed with the trash. The tree not only survived, it thrived.

A coalition of Shenango teachers, community volunteers and a local botanist are working to restore the creek to its original state. The area, behind Shenango's football field, will become the district's environmental classroom and a nature reserve for township residents.

"If you work with it, nature will heal," said Paul Skuta, a botanist advising seventh-grade science teacher Al Dorsch on the project.

The white walnut tree was one of the treasures Skuta uncovered while walking Dorsch and his colleagues through the area.

"I was astounded to see this tree there, which is actually one of the largest specimens that I've seen in many, many years," Skuta said. It's the kind of plant that grows in those kind of places - low, wet areas.

"And a lot of these kind of areas get drained, bulldozed."

State-mandating testing - not environmental activism - led Dorsch and fellow science teachers to target the creek for cleanup and rebirth.

Starting in 2007, students in grades four, eight and 11 will be tested in science. Dorsch said state education officials are emphasizing that students be taught ecology.

"We knew we were heading in that direction about three years ago," said Dorsch, the high school's science department chairman.

"That's when we started looking at the changes that needed to be made. We asked 'How can we change the program to fit that need?'"

A hike to the rear of the school's property offered the answer.

"I took kids down there to show them the characteristics of the stream and the plant life that exists in Pennsylvania," Dorsch said. "But the banks were so steep, I really couldn't take them down there safely."

Last year, the district received a $2,000 grant from the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. The funds are earmarked to develop elementary and high school learning classrooms.

"Even though we did receive the grants, it's still not enough money for them to do what they want to do," said parent volunteer Angel Rogers of Station Road.

Serving as a fundraiser, Rogers will visit township businesses in an effort to secure building materials and free labor.

"We need a lot of help from the community."

The district and volunteers are working on the initial phase of the project - cleanup and construction.

Hamilton Street resident Tammy Waters has pitched in with the cleanup and planning sessions.

"I know that I have a healthy respect for nature," she said, "and that I thought that it was a great opportunity for my children to learn hands-on and have this experience."

Outdoor classrooms give the district an advantage, Dorsch said. Science theory is taught in the classroom, while the hands-on learning takes place outside.

"The things that we think are just weeds ... have such purpose that we don't see as human beings," he said.

"I can't wait to see what else we find."

Copyright (c) 2005, New Castle News