The Newspaper Team from the West Union Elementary Second grade STEM Club are pictured above: From left, Willow Jackson, Alayna Mosbacker, Leia Grooms, Henry Hayslip, Carter Hilterbrand, Mayler Bramblette, Ariana Riley and Zoey Knox. (Photo provided by Erin Kirker)
This article was written by the West Union Elementary Second Grade STEM Club and STEM Club leader Erin Kirker and submitted to The People’s Defender for publication. The Newspaper team at STEM club are Willow Jackson, Alayna Mosbacker, Leia Grooms, Henry Hayslip, Carter Hilterbrand, Mayler Bramblette, Ariana Riley and Zoey Knox.
We are the West Union Elementary STEM Club. The problem of STEM Club is people are taking box turtles as pets. Turtles need resources like sticks, leafs, branches and other stuff to hide. In order to survive, turtles need water, food and shelter. Box turtles have dull shells.They eat berries, worms and bugs. If you don’t know about box turtles, you can call the Cincinnati Museum Center.
We think you should leave box turtles alone. It is illegal to take a box turtle. If you have taken a box turtle, never take them again, please. You don’t need box turtles. You can have cats, dogs or a hamster. Do not take box turtles. They need to stay in their habitat. If you take a box turtle and put it somewhere else it can get confused and try to find its real home. We want you to stop taking box turtles out of the wild. Instead, leave them alone.
The West Union Elementary 2nd Grade STEM Club has been hard at work, meeting every Thursday in the school library to tackle exciting, real-world challenges. With 40 second-grade students enthusiastically participating, the club has seen a steady turnout and growing dedication from its young members.
The club’s first session introduced the concept of problem-solving, setting the stage for a special guest to present a real-world issue for the students to address. Robyn Wright-Strauss, an expert in environmental conservation, visited the club to challenge students to help wild box turtles. Her visit ignited curiosity and launched weeks of research, brainstorming and collaborative solutions.
Over the next month, students dove into the project with guidance from Wright-Strauss and input from Ryan Applegate of The People’s Defender. Applegate provided a crash course in journalism to prepare the club’s newspaper team to share their findings. The resulting article reflects the students’ dedication, teamwork and passion for making a difference.
The young problem solvers are now equipped with tools to raise awareness about protecting wild box turtles, demonstrating that even the youngest minds can contribute to solving complex environmental issues. Their efforts continue to inspire both peers and educators in the West Union community.
