How often do you get to learn from a living laboratory? Bronxville High School students are getting to do just that thanks to a new program focusing on the Bronx River— and they’re paying it forward by sharing the river’s lessons with younger students.

The Bronx River research class at Bronxville High School functions as an outdoor classroom, allowing students to get hands-on experience with New York City’s last remaining freshwater river, while honing their understanding of the scientific method and basic river science.

Students are then tasked with sharing what they’ve learned with elementary and middle school students, which can sometimes turn into multi-day lessons in the schools.

“Sometimes they’re almost mini units where they’ll start with a classroom activity, going over a topic and then they’ll come out to the river with the class and then they’ll collect data.” Science teacher Stephen Kovari said. “Then they’ll analyze data with the class, and so you get this sort of circular transfer of knowledge that’s really cool.”

Charlotte Golimbu, Bronxville High School Junior, enjoys getting to experience the river.

“One of my favorite parts about this program is being able to do research in the river and understand with hands-on experience on how to do these labs,” Charlotte said, noting that at times they don’t get to apply what they’ve learned in a more traditional lab setting outside the classroom.

“Being able to apply (what we’ve learned) in the real world and in a river or on a tree, that I feel like is really important for hands-on learning and helping to understand the Bronx River and its ecosystem.”

Natalia Thiessen-Rodriguez, Bronxville High School Junior, likes having an outdoor classroom.

“I really like how it’s not like your normal science class… it is less lecture-based than a typical class,” Natalia said. “It’s really interesting how you can apply your own skills to create like your own little project, so you can kind of take your learning wherever you want it to go.”

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Bronxville NY students experience Bronx River as outdoor classroom