Make way for ducklings, deer and plant life

The site will provide a living laboratory for pupils.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- The old tires, concrete and debris that cluttered the property between Falcon Drive and Raccoon Road have been cleaned up and about 1,000 trees have been planted.
The planting is part of the new middle school project, which includes a wetlands.
Dr. Michael Crowe of MRB Environmental Services Inc., the New Springfield company that designed the wetlands, gave a tour of the roughly 6-acre site Monday.
Crowe said the wetlands, when completed, will be incorporated into the school district's curriculum from the fourth grade through high school.
"Students will be doing water-quality monitoring and have their own lab to do it," he said.
Gravel pathways will be installed to allow pupils to walk into the area and view the plant and animal life.
The cost for the wetlands portion of the project is about $140,000, said Superintendent Stan Watson. It would have been higher if the district had located the wetlands off school property.
If a wetlands is relocated, under state and federal law, the new wetlands area must be larger than what it's replacing, he said.
Balancing act
Crowe said that about 1,000 trees and roughly 15,000 plants of about 120 varieties are being planted on the property.
"The baby ducks have already started moving into the pond area," Crowe said.
The new middle school, under construction on Raccoon Road, will replace the aging Austintown Middle School on Mahoning Avenue, which will likely be sold.
The $26 million, 174,668-square-foot school was advertised for bids last week. It will house pupils in grades six through eight.
Fourth- and fifth-graders will attend Frank Ohl Middle School. That school, along with Austintown Middle School, now houses fifth- through eighth-graders.
Kindergartners through third-graders will attend one of the district's five elementary schools.
The school board borrowed the money to build the school through two 9-mill bond issues voters approved in November 2003.
Crowe said 20 tons of asphalt and concrete were hauled out of the area to make way for the wetlands. A pile of old tires collected from the property awaits removal.
A herd of seven deer lives in one area of the property, and Crowe hopes other animals move back into the area.
"It's balancing the use of the land," Crowe said. "The school and the environment are working together rather than competing against one another."