Clarkson University and the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries held the first Technology, Environment, Arts and Media (TEAM) summer program in July with the theme of the impact of agriculture on freshwater.

Assistant Clarkson professor of Biology Stefanie Kring led the program along with staff from the Beacon Institute and Rombout Middle School.

The program invited 25 local seventh and eighth-grade students to study a small pond on Common Ground farm that is part of Stony Kill Farm Environmental Education Center located in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. The students were tasked with investigating the declining health of the pond at Common Ground Farm.

"I personally feel that what our ESI campers achieved during our one week summer program by far exceeded any of my initial expectations," said Jeanette Lynch, science teacher at Rombout Middle School. "Having this amazing opportunity to collaboratively work with the Beacon Institute and Clarkson University to create an open-ended inquiry based weeklong science program and see firsthand what my students were able to accomplish using the TEAM based approach has me convinced that this is what science education should look like in our classrooms moving forward."