A visitor to Africa brings lessons back
The grasslands of Africa are a world away from the suburban American classroom. But a Lynnfield teacher hopes to bridge the gap.
Cheryl Sanderson, who teaches third grade at the Summer Street Elementary School, spent two weeks in Kenya this summer helping with a research study on water usage in an arid section of that East African nation.
Now, as she begins a new school year in Lynnfield, Sanderson is excited about the chance to share the knowledge and insights she gained from a scientific adventure that exposed her to nomadic tribes and wild animals in the African savannah.
''I just think that the experience of going on this expedition has really been an inspiration," said Sanderson, 48, a Saugus resident who has taught at Summer Street for 15 years. ''It's really rejuvenated me.
''I have a sense of purpose that I've never experienced before, and it's taken my teaching to a new level," she said.
In the coming weeks, Sanderson plans to offer presentations about her trip, to students and others in the community. She is looking for ways to integrate teaching about African culture and geography into the curriculum. And she hopes to inspire students to undertake projects, such as water conservation, that can give them a broader awareness of global resource issues.
''I think it's important that kids understand life exists outside Lynnfield," she said, ''outside Massachusetts, and outside the United States, and that they really start to appreciate the many things they have in their lives and what they can do with them."
Sanderson was part of a team of seven teachers -- six from the United States and one from China -- that took part in the July 16-31 mission. The trip was organized by Earthwatch Institute, a Maynard-based nonprofit that supports scientific field research worldwide.
Earthwatch sent 270 teachers into the field this year through various grant programs, according to Phoebe Morad, the group's education outreach and network manager. From 4,000 to 5,000 teachers apply each year.
Sanderson and 27 other teachers received grants through an Earthwatch program that is funded by the National Geographic Society Education Foundation. Sanderson's grant was for $2,500. Local donations, including from the Summer Street School PTO and the Lynnfield Education Trust, funded expenses beyond those covered by the grant.
The mission of Sanderson's team was to help two professors from Kenyatta University in Nairobi with an ongoing project to map the location of water areas in the country's' Samburu region, a savannah or grassland area inhabited by local tribes and varied wildlife. The work also involves studying the quality and quantity of the water and how it is used by people and animals.
''It was overwhelming. It was so much more than I could have ever expected," Sanderson said of the expedition. She had researched the country before she left, but ''It just could not prepare you for what a beautiful country Kenya is and the struggles that the folks go through and the cultures and traditions that support how they survive," she said.
Sanderson got the idea to apply for an Earthwatch expedition last January from Bob Simmons, Lynnfield's math/science curriculum specialist for kindergarten through Grade 6. Having worked with her on curriculum projects and knowing her interest in science, Simmons figured Sanderson might be interested.
After doing some research, Sanderson decided to apply. In June, she learned she had been picked for an expedition.
The trip began July 16 when Sanderson flew to Nairobi via London. After staying the night at a Nairobi hotel, she and the other teachers and an Earthwatch representative flew to Wamba, a town in the foothills of the Matthews Mountain Range, about three hours south of Nairobi. There they were joined by the two Kenyan professors.
Staying in a cabin in Wamba, the group headed out each day in a safari jeep to do research. With the help of local tribesmen who served as guides, the group located some dams in the area that supplied the water used by the local tribes and by domestic and wild animals.
Group members used global positioning instruments to record the location of each dam. They also collected water samples for later testing in a laboratory; measured water volume; and made observations about water usage.
Sanderson, who helped conduct some of the water testing at a Catholic Mission hospital, said it showed that the water had high levels of bacterial and other contamination. She said that was not a surprise given that it was used not only for drinking, but for bathing and other purposes.
Sanderson said she and her team have spoken of going back in two years at the end of the project. She looks forward to the chance.
''I really felt being part of this expedition was a way of being part of the solution and not just the problem," she said. ''It really provided me with some sense of accomplishemnt that to me will last a lifetime. Hopefully, I'll be going back to do some more work. I'm excited about that."
