NYSAES

Holly Lange, from the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station's plant pathology department, talks to Geneva elementary school students at the summer science camp about a research project in one of the station greenhouses.

For the second year in a row, third-graders from the Geneva City School District are attending a summer science day camp at Cornell's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva. The students got an early start planting seeds into peat pots, while Cornell scientists got an early start planting the seeds of possible careers in horticulture and science into the minds of the students.

During the camp, which runs from June 26 to Aug. 3, students from West Street and North Street elementary schools have a chance to learn more about where food comes from. They are also learning about soil science, plant anatomy and genetics, insects, plant diseases, food science and integrated pest management.

The partnership between Cornell and Geneva's school district stems from a 2005 grant to grow gardens through the Cornell Kids Growing Food program. When North Street principal Nina McCarthy saw how much work NYSAES faculty put into the gardens, she organized the summer science camp in cooperation with the station. According to the annual New York state science assessment scores just released, 95 percent of the fourth-grade students at North Street School ranked at levels 3 and 4, the higher level being mastery of the subject -- a 6 percent improvement from last year -- and more than 50 percent of the students scored at level 4.

"I certainly attribute the students' excitement and enthusiasm in the skills and concepts of science to the experiment station," said McCarthy, adding that all science camp participants passed.

"All the scientists at the station have been enthusiastic about being involved and do a fantastic job explaining their particular area of expertise to the kids," said Christine Smart, assistant professor of plant pathology at the experiment station. She leads the camp with project director Paul Tucci, who teaches English as a second language at North Street and is certified in biology and science. Matty Brooks, the school science aide, helps facilitate all aspects of the program.

Earlier this spring, Smart and Reiners visited the two public elementary schools and helped students plant vegetable and flower seeds into peat pots. The pots were brought back to grow in a station greenhouse. Several weeks later, students visited the station, checked on their plants' progress and brought most of them back to transplant into the gardens at their schools, which they also had prepared.

Others from the station involved in the project include Stephen Reiners and Courtney Weber in horticultural sciences; Charlie Linn, Brian Nault and Greg English-Loeb in entomology; Betsy Bihn in food science and technology; and Beth Gugino and Holly Lange in plant pathology.

Tim Krakowiak is a writer for the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station.