box turtle

The world is a wide and wild place.

This week, roughly 800 BCSD elementary school students spent a morning exploring the natural world at NatureScope in Old Santee Canal Park.

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Students from Berkeley Elementary, Bowen's Corner Elementary, Devon Forest Elementary, Foxbank Elementary, Hanahan Elementary, Moncks Corner Elementary, Philip Simmons Elementary and Whitesville Elementary got to enjoy educational and interactive shows by the South Carolina Aquarium and Santee Cooper.

Additionally, students learned more about environmental science, conservation efforts and local environmentally friendly companies with exhibits by:

  • South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

  • Berkeley County Soil and Water

  • Nucor Steel - Berkeley

  • Berkeley 250

  • Berkeley County Recycling

  • Vector Management

  • South Carolina Wildlife

  • South Carolina Waterfowl

  • Powerhouse Recycling

  • Boeing

  • Santee Cooper Biological Services

  • Keep Berkeley Beautiful

Put on by Berkeley County Kids Who Care, a local non-profit focused on environmental science education, the winners of the non-profit's environmental science project competition were also announced at the event. All first place winners received $500 to support more environmental science education efforts in their schools.

Berkeley Elementary and Moncks Corner Elementary won third and second place, respectively.

This year, there was a three-way tie for first place! Congratulations to Devon Forest Elementary, Hanahan Elementary and Bowen's Corner Elementary on all taking the top spot. DFE's project allowed fourth grade students to try out composting with a "Bottle Biome." HES fourth graders focused on recycling with their "Recycling Rangers" project, and BCE second graders took a crack at constructing an inclusive playground with "All Friends Can Play."