"We are now in third and fourth grade. When we were in first and second grade, we studied Sunnyside Pond. We made photo journals of our pond observations. We wrote and sent email messages about the pond to other schools around the world who were also studying water habitats. We looked at photo journals from classes before us and made field trips to the pond with our class. We found out that the island was getting smaller and smaller."

"We made a video tape story about the ponds at Sunnyside Park and sent it to students in New York so they could learn about our pond. We wrote a report about observations of the pond in the past and the pond in the present. In the report, we included how we would like to have the pond be in the future."

"Then we used the computer at WSU to share our report with students at the YouthCaN Conference on Earth Day. The students' conference was at the New York City Natural History Museum in April l996. With the computer we could do a live Internet video conference. We could see and hear them. They could see and hear us."

"We gave our report to an auditorium of students and told them that the island was getting smaller. We told them that, for the future, we wanted to save the island as a nesting place for mallard ducks, Canada geese, and turtles. We also told them we wanted the water to be cleaner. They asked us 'How many people care about your pond?' "

"We looked around our class and answered, 'Well, the 25 kids in our class plus our teacher!' They said, 'You need a lot more people to care about that pond!' "

" So...our class met with Alan Davis to ask him how we could save the island and get more people to care about the pond. He said it would take a long time because we would have to drain out the water. He said we needed to raise the money for big equipment to move in big rocks to put around the island and put in posts to hold the rocks. "

"It was the end of the school year so we didn't have time to do anymore about the island. "