Fund for the City of New York (Freshkills Park Alliance)

Middle and high school students from NYC will be contributing important, hands-on research for the global scientific community by completing arthropod inventory surveys at Freshkills Park, the largest landfill-to-park project in the world and largest grassland in the northeast. As grasslands are in rapid decline and their ecosystem services are often overlooked, students will work to expand their knowledge of grasslands and the biodiverse arthropod species the habitat supports. Students will use the collected data to produce various student-led research projects relating to arthropod biodiversity at Freshkills Park. 385 middle and high school students will collect data on arthropod diversity through surveys. Student nets will be used for arthropod collection. Specimens will be placed in acrylic bug boxes and identified through use of microscopes and field guides by students. The projector will be used in our Mobile Lab to present arthropods to classes. All data will be recorded in field books and then digitally recorded. 120 middle and high school students from the St. Clares School, Brooklyn Prospect High School, and Staten Island Technical High School will analyze the collected data and conduct their own research projects. Allowing students to use their own sourced data and reach their own scientific conclusions empowers them to become stewards of our grasslands, while facilitating the expansion of global, youth-led research