Speaking from the lens of one of the agricultural education teachers at Newton College & Career Academy, we are consistently looking to connect things. We strive to connect our students with curriculum, our curriculum with industry, and our industries with students. Ultimately that’s what sustainability is, right? Connecting things with one another? Webster defines sustainable as : capable of being sustained. Well, what does Webster say about sustained?  “Maintained at length without interruption or weakening."

That’s what I’m talking about. I don’t want our student’s progress to be interrupted, and I certainly don’t want it to be weakened. I want the experiences our students have to strengthen them as individuals, therefore strengthening our curriculum and local industries. Much like any type of braided wire or rope, we believe the more experiences we can connect with a student, the stronger that student becomes. Our students hopefully become more sustainable when they come through our program.

Who Doesn’t Love a Creek?
 
Thanks to the City of Oxford’s Sustainability Committee, I had a chance to play in the creek again with the Stream Team of GA and folks from UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.  Since retiring, I really miss that part of teaching of Environmental Science at Oxford College, so it was a real treat for me to get my feet wet and my hands slimy.

On Saturday, we sampled a stretch of Dried Indian Creek behind the Oxford College Organic Farm to see how many different kinds of fish we could find.  Using an electro-shocker, the team collected fish from horny head chub to yellow fin shiners -- even a few salamanders.  No worries though, it was all catch and release with 0% fish mortality.  What a beautiful array of fish, many in their brilliant breeding colors.