First-grade students from Bridgeport Elementary School in the Upper Merion School District enjoyed a nature-filled field trip to Riverbend Environmental Education Center in Gladwyne, Pa., on May 16 courtesy of ASTM International. ASTM International, based in West Conshohocken, sponsors several field trips a year to Riverbend for local elementary schools in the Colonial, Norristown and Upper Merion school districts.

While at Riverbend, the students took part in activities and lessons about ponds and streams to go along with their classroom instruction on the five animal groups. The lessons from the field trip will help with their upcoming animal reports, in which each student becomes an “expert” on a specific animal, learning about their habitats, food, enemies and more.

Riverbend’s mission is to “teach environmental principles to children in Southeastern Pennsylvania through a direct connection with nature, inspiring respect for our natural world and action as aware, responsible and caring citizens.”

In the photo, Bridgeport first-graders search for crayfish in a stream at Riverbend along with ASTM International’s Carla Falco, Manager of Product Promotion. 

ASTM PR Contact: Barbara Schindler, Phone: 610-832-9603; bschindl@astm.org

Release #9193