New Hampshire
During a snowy weekend, high schoolers learn about snow – and reflect on climate change
Two groups of high schoolers, one from Lebanon High School in New Hampshire, the other from Fajardo Academy in Puerto Rico, found themselves in several snowy situations last weekend.
As flurries descended on the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in the White Mountains, the students strapped on snowshoes and ventured out into the cold. They measured snow, weighed snow, installed sensors under the snow – and made some more personal observations.
“I won’t forget the first time I sled,” said Gabriel Sosa, an 11th grader from Fajardo Academy. “Touching snow, making my first snowball – we had a snowball fight yesterday. It was fun.”
Sosa said he also enjoyed meeting new people, making friends, and learning about a project to use slingshots and velcro balls to track the spread of an invasive insect – the hemlock wooly adelgid.
Meghan Wilson, a Lebanon High School teacher, and Briseida Fernández, a teacher at Fajardo Academy, organized the trip with the same goals as many exchanges: to give their students a chance to connect with each other.
But they also wanted them to connect with science.
“I like my students to see that when doing science, we all do the same things wherever we go,” Fernández said. “The ecosystems are two different ecosystems. Biotic and abiotic factors are completely different. But at the same time, the dynamics of the ecosystems are very similar.”
Brendan Leonardi, the program and education manager for the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation, said the goal of the weekend was for students to understand the importance of snow. They learned about how it insulates underground habitats, how it recharges soil with water when it melts in the spring, and how cold temperatures are necessary for fun winter activities.
Courtesy
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Andrew Cassel, Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest
At one point, he said, the whole group was rolling around in the snow.
“It was very immersive – like, this is winter, this is winter ecology,” he said.
They also talked about how winters are getting warmer and less snowy.
Max Perriello, a tenth grader at Lebanon High School, said he’s seen the effects of warming winters in his own life.
“I can remember when I was a kid, every Thanksgiving we’d be snowed in,” he said. Now, he said, snow isn’t as reliable.
For Gia McCarty, an eleventh grader visiting from Fajardo Academy, climate impacts at home look a little different. December and January have always been warm. But now, she said, they feel like another summer, with temperatures hotter than she’s used to.
“Also in the summer you get a lot of storms,” she said. “We’re constantly worried about hurricane season.”
Learning from one another helped students see how climate change is happening everywhere, said eleventh grader Yaliet Santa Villafañe.
“It makes you realize that it is affecting everybody,” she said. “At first you’re thinking only about where you live and how it will affect your living. But you have to realize that it’s happening all throughout the world.”
Villafañe said learning about climate change comes with some fear – environmental shifts are happening fast, and looking at data makes that feel real.
“People need to realize that that is happening, and it’s happening now,” she said. “And it will affect everyone if there’s not a change.”
Noelia Báez Rodríguez, a program coordinator with the Luquillo long-term ecological research site, accompanied the students on the trip. Her research site does the same kind of work as Hubbard Brook. Students from Fajardo Academy used data from the Luquillo site in school projects, which they presented to the New Hampshire students over the weekend.
Báez-Rodríguez said part of her goal for the trip was to show students that there are people everywhere committed to studying climate science.
“I would like them not to be scared about things, but understand how and why those things occur in different types of ecosystems and environments and the repercussions of that,” she said.
She says she’s hoping to show them that science is a career worth exploring, and there are places across the globe set up for gathering data on the natural world.
A Massachusetts man was flown to the hospital after he was struck by a car when he stepped out of his vehicle in the breakdown lane of Interstate 93 in Londonderry, New Hampshire, on Saturday morning.
State police say 40-year-old Felix Matos Medina, of Lawrence, had stopped on the right side of I-93 south at Exit 5 just before 11 a.m. to investigate a possible mechanical issue. He was struck shortly after he stepped out of his vehicle by a Chevrolet Malibu and sustained serious injuries.
Medina was taken by medical helicopter to Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Mass., police said. There was no immediate update on his condition.
I-93 southbound was closed near Exit 5 for about 30 minutes to facilitate the medical helicopter’s landing. One lane remained closed for several hours to accommodate crash reconstruction and on-scene investigation.
The driver who struck Medina, identified as David Jodoin, stopped at the scene and is cooperating with investigators, according to police. No charges have been filed at this time, but all aspects of the crash remain under investigation at this time.
Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact Trooper Evan Puopolo at 603-451-9784.
State police are also reminding all New Hampshire drivers that Sherrill’s Law requires motorists approaching a stopped vehicle displaying warning signals to slow down and give plenty of space. Drivers are also required to move out of partially or wholly blocked lanes when it’s safe to do so.
New Hampshire
Downtown Shooting | How Much Income Makes Someone ‘Rich’ | Sex Sale Gone Bad On Facebook? Nearby News NH
CONCORD, NH — Here are the Top 10 most popular stories and posts from around New Hampshire Patch sites last week.
- Concord Police Investigating The Death Of A Young Child In The City’s South End Neighborhood: Update: Dakin Street was closed to traffic for several hours during an investigation of a child found dead at a duplex on Friday morning.
- Facebook Marketplace Cleaning Services Hire Or Sex Sale Gone Bad Leads To Stabbing In Manchester: Court docs: Frank Miller of Manchester and Kendra Gokey, a homeless woman, were arrested on first-degree assault and other charges Sunday.
- Man Shot During Dispute On South State Street In Downtown Concord: Video: Breaking: A man was shot in the leg Saturday during a dispute; cops have South State Street from Thompson to Concord closed to traffic.
- Fast Food Chain Closing Locations | Queen City Killing | Meth Distributor Pleads Guilty | More: Nearby News: Also: Best sandwich shop in NH; untimely death; crashes; knife attack indictments; firefighter injured in explosion released from hospital.
- After The Snow Sunday And Monday, More Is Coming To New Hampshire, Forecasters Say: After the storm that is expected to bring 8 to 12 inches of snow to the state, more snowstorm fronts are expected to arrive this week.
- 6 To 15 Inches Of Snow Heading To The Granite State Sunday Night; Wind Gusts Up To 45 mph: Forecasters: Heavy, blinding snow is expected in central and southern New Hampshire, as well as the Seacoast, from Sunday night to Monday morning.
- National Fast Food Chain To Close Hundreds Of Restaurants; New Hampshire Locations May Be Impacted: The chain that closed hundreds of locations in 2024 expects to shutter approximately 360 nationwide during the first half of 2026.
- Police Arrest Man On Felony Charges After South State Street Shooting In Downtown Concord: Follow-Up: David Anziani faces first-degree and second-degree assault, reckless conduct, and felonious firearm charges after a shooting on Saturday.
- Hollis Teen Faces Assault Charge, Accused Of An ‘Unprovoked’ Attack In Downtown Nashua In November: Connor Cook was arrested in late December after being accused of punching another man in the face on Main Street and then fleeing the scene.
- How Much Income Is Needed To Be Considered ‘Rich’ In New Hampshire?: A new analysis details the annual household income required to be considered among the top 10 percent of earners in the Granite State.
Here are some other posts readers may have missed:
Child Death Investigation | Queen City Tax Cap Fight | Fun Things To Do This Weekend | More: PM Patch NH
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