Third Graders Perform "Pest in the Apple Orchard" for STEM Class

The third graders have been keeping busy in their STEM studies! After learning about pollination (the relationship between pollinators, flowers, nectar, pollen, and seeds) and creating visual depictions of these natural systems, the students then turned their focus toward Integrated Pest Management and how agricultural engineers, farmers, and scientists work together to find solutions for pests in gardens/farms that minimize harmful effects from pesticides on the environment and on other creatures. Often, they accomplish this by introducing a predator of the pest to the ecosystem, or by using chemicals in very limited and specific locations/ways. The third grade put on a play titled “Pest in the Apple Orchard” for kindergarten and first grade students, taking on the roles of engineers, farmers, pests, and narrators to demonstrate three different ways that Integrated Pest Management can be used to solve pest challenges. Such a fun way to share their newfound knowledge and better understand how these systems work!