SMITHTOWN, NY Accompsett Middle school sixth-graders received a lesson in protecting the environment from Nicole Garguilo, a town employee. The Smithtown Central School District announced in an announcement that Garguilo returned to her roots.
Garguilo, a former ninth grader in the same school building as Garguilo now works in Smithtown’s supervisor’s office. Brian Farrell, a local colleague, was also present at Garguilo’s school.
They explored the water cycle and learned how the local area is one 12th in the United States that depends on groundwater for its drinking waters. The school district and Town of Smithtown collaborated on STEM projects.
Garguilo explained that Accompsett Middle School requires that one dig approximately 100 feet to locate an aquifer, the underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock. She mentioned that students and their families could go to the U.S. Geological Survey website, type in their address, and then find out how deep it takes to dig for drinking water.
Garguilo invited students to help with stormwater pollution. She gave out an information sheet explaining that rainwater seeps into our drinking water and is washed into storm drains that lead into our streams, ponds and Nissequogue River. Students learned that fertilizer should be used sparingly by their families, not to dump anything down storm drains and to compost yard waste.
She also discussed environmentally-friendly products, such as those marked with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Choice Label.
The town also offers a program that allows non-environmentally friendly substances to be disposed off in a safe manner, three times per year.
