Nearly 200 Concord public school students visited the Forest Society's Merrimack River Outdoor Education & Conservation Area this fall as part of Project SEE.

Program Assistant Madeline Champlin shared some photos and stories from the visits in October. A total of 10 classes with 183 students, plus several dozen teachers and chaperones, took part in Wildlife Habitat Hikes at the 103-acre conservation area.These photos are of students in teacher Lori Otis' second grade class from nearby Mill Brook Elementary School (MBS) in Concord.

Champlin shares that the second graders had a great time exploring the floodplain. Staff instructors at Project SEE helped students see and explore four common NH habitats: pond, forest, river, and meadow.

The second grade students used ID boards to help them understand what plants and animals live in the forest during a habitat hike field trip at the Conservation Center trails in Concord. 

"During the 2022 habitat hikes we had some REAL and exciting animal sightings including Black bear (very rare!), a few American toads, low flying Turkey vultures, a Garter snake, fresh beaver chew, some chipmunks, and a lot of gray squirrels," Champlin said.

Champlin added: "We DO appreciate the Conservation Center letting us use the trails for this field trip. During the school year, the 2nd graders in Concord are learning about habitats with their Project SEE teachers.

This field trip allows the students to get outside, see and explore four different habitats. Our hope is that the students can use what they saw during the habitat hike field trip and apply it to their future lessons on habitats during the school year."