MILLBROOK — Starting this summer, nine math and science teachers will be spending six weeks at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies doing collaborative research in ecosystem science.
They’ll continue meeting throughout the school year, to develop curricula together based on the work and research they conducted over the summer.
Funded by a three-year award from the National Science Foundation as part of the Research Experiences for Teachers Sites in Biological Sciences (BIORETS), the goal of the program is to build teachers’ knowledge and enable them to develop more engaging learning experiences around ecology.
The curricula they’ll develop together will focus on helping students not just to learn about ecology, but also to deepen their understanding of the environmental needs and problems that exist in our current, crisis-state ecological situation.
Such courses have the added bonus of providing students with another entrée into the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and math).
Cary is currently accepting applications to the program from teachers. They intend to prioritize educators from groups underrepresented in STEM fields, and those who work in schools that serve significant minority populations.
So far, teachers from four under-resourced Hudson Valley school districts, serving both urban and rural populations, have expressed interest in the program. Teachers from across the U.S. are invited to apply, with travel and housing covered. Participating teachers will receive an $8,800 stipend.
Rebecca Van Tassell, program coordinator for Cary BIORETS, emphasized that the program isn’t just for biology teachers: “We would love math teachers to apply. We would love computer science and chemistry teachers to apply.
“The sticky, urgent problems of global change need to be approached through the thinking of many different disciplines so that we can come up with novel solutions.”
Cary Institute is located at 2801 Sharon Turnpike in Millbrook, N.Y.Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Some of the projects that the teachers will explore are related to wildfire, aquatic ecosystems, disease ecology, forests, and nutrient cycling — all issues that Cary has been engaging with consistently.
The teachers will have the opportunity to do projects like creating and running simulations of future forest and fire dynamics, or conducting field surveys of tick density and distribution — a field something Cary had been at the forefront of for many years. They may also explore soil food webs, or identify tree species.
Cary hopes that educators will develop new materials to aid in their instruction in introducing ecological ideas to their students based on their research experiences.
The participants will also be expected to share their research by contributing to a professional publication, presenting at a conference, or conducting workshops in their school districts.
As well as having the support of one another, they’ll also have support from the Cary education staff.
During the ensuing year, Cary will host four virtual meetings supporting the teachers as they unroll their new curricula. They’ll have the opportunity to receive feedback on the teaching stratagems and the materials used to determine the effectiveness of the new methods and materials.
Working together is one of the main points of the program, Van Tassell emphasized: participants will learn through sharing and workshopping ideas. The process is designed to be collaborative.
Cary has worked throughout its 40-year history with educators in creating curricula and fostering professional development. Van Tassell feels that part of the reason Cary BIORETS is unique is that it is tailored to each teacher’s interests and classroom dynamics:
“By letting teachers engage as learners in this authentic and inquiry-based way, we can work with them to develop materials that allow their students to learn in the same way,” she noted.
Max Amsterdam reaches out to pet a red panda at the Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo on Millbrook School’s campus on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Amsterdam is a senior at Millbrook School and serves as the zoo’s head student curator.
Stahl said the zoo has been engaged in a long-range master planning process for several years as part of preparing for its next Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditation review in 2027. “We knew we had to make a plan and look toward the future,” Stahl said. “We had to think about what more we could be doing for the animals, for students and for the community.”
Construction is nearing completion on a new animal holding barn, the first step toward housing off-exhibit animals. Funded by philanthropist Barbara Tober — whom Stahl described as the project’s “catalyst” — the facility is required under AZA accreditation standards. The holding barn will serve as a first stop for new animals required to quarantine before entering an exhibit. It will also safely house animals when enclosures are being repaired or when they need rehabilitation.
The new animal hospital, which zoo staff are referring to as an animal wellness center, is poised to be four times larger than the existing space. Stahl said the team is looking forward to dramatically expanding the zoo’s ability to treat animals on campus, eliminating the need to transport them off-site for procedures like X-rays or ultrasounds.
Max Amsterdam feeds a red panda at the Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo on the Millbrook School campus on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Amsterdam said he became interested in the school's zoo in his freshman year when he watched an older student perform a biopsy on a wolf that had passed away at the zoo.Photo by Aly Morrissey
Stahl said a primary goal of the master plan and the animal wellness center is to “bring the outside in.” The public will be allowed to watch certain procedures and operations to learn more about the veterinary work that goes on behind the scenes.
In addition to the zoo’s around-the-clock staff, rotating veterinarians visit the zoo each week to check on the animals and perform routine procedures. The current space is limited, and zoo staff are eager to have an expanded footprint.
“Right now we’re very limited space-wise,” Stahl said. “This new facility will let us have more space, more vets and more learning happening.”
Max Amsterdam has lived at the Millbrook School as a boarding student for four years and has held a working role at the zoo throughout that time. Today, in his senior year, he serves as the zoo’s head student curator — a coveted leadership role that requires a formal application and selection process.
When Amsterdam first applied to Millbrook School, the zoo was not front-of-mind. Although he wanted to become a veterinarian as a young child, the desire dissipated until he set foot in the Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo as a freshman.
“I watched a senior perform a biopsy on a red wolf that had passed away from a uterine tumor,” Amsterdam said. “I didn’t even know that students could do that. I realized right then how incredible this place was and the zoo became my thing.”
Over his four years at Millbrook, Amsterdam has assisted veterinarians, shadowed medical procedures, conducted necropsies and even traveled with staff to national AZA conferences. “As you grow, you gain a relationship with the staff and vets, and when they know you can handle it, they let you do more,” he said.
With graduation on the horizon and plans to study biology at Bucknell, Amsterdam admits he’s a little jealous of the future students that will benefit from the new zoo facilities.
At the end of the day, he is grateful for the hands-on experience he has received in his leadership roles at the zoo. Millbrook School is the only high school in the country with an AZA-accredited zoo on its campus.
“I’m jealous, but I’m also so grateful that the zoo got that donation because it’s needed,” Amsterdam smiled. “We deserve it, too. It’s a lot of hard work by the staff and students — it’s 200% effort seven days a week, and not many people see that.”
