Sandusky students pitch in to restore nature preserve

SANDUSKY — The students in teacher Amanda Kovach's science class at Sandusky Central Catholic School didn't just learn about efforts to clean up the lake.They took matters in their own hands, raising native plants and grasses in the classroom and planting them to aid efforts to help restore the Great Egret Marsh Preserve, a wetland in Ottawa County near East Harbor State Park.Student Gretchen Heilman, of Huron, said she liked learning a high school class can help restore the local environment.Great Egret Marsh Preserve consists of 150 acres in Ottawa County, across the road from East Harbor State Park. The Nature Conservancy bought the land, formerly a farm, in 2014, and has been restoring it as a wetland with native plants.The restoration project is run by Matthew Kovach, Lake Erie Coasts and Islands project manager for the Nature Conservancy. His wife, Amanda, teaches science classes at Sandusky Central Catholic School.The students in her classes were responsible for growing 11 different kinds of flowers and native grasses in the classroom, using grow lights.They grew plants such as the Indian Blanket Flower, Butterfly weed and Ohio Spiderwort and native grasses such as Switchgrass and Little Blue Stem."I always get in early. I water them and turn on the lights," student Makayla Adams said.Student Brett Reed said he has grown up helping his mother, Beth Ayers, plant flowers in their yard and the neighbors' yards."It was something I could do I already knew how to do," he said."It was a good learning experience. I liked being able to work with all of our classmates," student Kenzie Quinn said. On Friday morning, 14 students went to the marsh on one of the school's buses and planted dozens of the grasses and plants they raised. Some of them also removed invasive plants from the marsh. Matthew Kovach came to the class and spoke about how wetlands, such as Great Egret Marsh Preserve, filters out nutrients from the water, keeping them from going into the lake and feeding harmful algal blooms, Adams said.Many native kinds of grass put down deep roots in the soil, preventing soil erosions, Matthew Kovach said.The students also learned that many of the plants they grew attract butterflies, which, in turn, is useful in pollinating plants, Quinn said.Student Michael Bourne said that while he has lived his whole life in the community, he found out for the first time in the class that much of the area used to be covered by a marshland, the Black Swamp.Amanda Kovach took 15 students out to the marsh preserve Friday, where they planted the flowers and the grasses.She said she enjoyed showing the students they can make a difference."I just feel like we have a lot of negative news on the environment," she said. "I don't want them to feel like their hands are tied and they have to watch something bad unfold."Reach reporter Tom Jackson at jackson@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @jacksontom.SMCC biology students spend their service day planting native grasses and flowers they helped raise. SMCC freshmen Madison Shenigo and Sara Morrow smile for the camera while helping plant the native plants at Great Egret Marsh Nature Preserve on Friday, May 25, 2018.Sophomores Nick Patchen and Jonathan Perry work together to plant native grasses at Great Egret Marsh Nature Preserve on Friday, May 25, 2018. Their biology class helped raise the plants from a seed throughout the last two months. SMCC sophomore Nick Patchen grabs a couple more native plants during a service day activity at Great Egret Marsh Nature Preserve on Friday, May 25, 2018.For a service day, a St. Mary's student waters freshly planted native flowers and grass at Great Egret Marsh Nature Preserve on Friday, May 25, 2018.