A pinecone can predict the weather.

When the air is humid and there is a good chance of rain, the pinecone will close, to help ensure that its seeds have a chance to travel further when the air is dry.

That’s one of the things Kindergarten students at Essex Elementary School (EES) learned the first week in November this school year, as a result of a virtual Scientist in Residence Program for Grades K-6.

The science lesson involving a pinecone, windsock, and rain gauge was led by Heather Kordula, a science instructor from the Connecticut Audubon Society’s Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center.

The Scientist in Residence Program, which has been offered at EES for more than five years, is a way to “support and amplify the teacher’s skills and knowledge,” said Kordula, adding it’s also a way “to bring classroom science into the outdoors.”

Another goal is to adapt “classroom science curriculum to the Next Generation Science Standards...with Common Core math and literacy standards,” according to an Oct. 27 press release from the EES Foundation (EESF).

This school year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kordula’s lessons, which often relate to earth and life sciences, ecology, conservation, and citizenship, are taking place virtually, by way of Google Meets, but the benefits for students and teachers are the same.

“It’s nice to collaborate with the teachers in the lesson and to really work with them and help them,” said Kordula.

The Scientist in Residence Program is just one example of many “enrichment programs and technology upgrades offered at EES” due to funding from the EES Foundation “that would otherwise not be available through traditional funding by the school system and budget,” according to the Oct. 27 press release.

Throughout the years, the foundation has supported a variety of activities at the school with literacy support materials, equipment for musical and physical education, playground improvements, a 3D printer, and the Engineering with LEGOs program, as a few examples.

This year, however, due to the safety protocols necessitated by the pandemic, “a lot of the projects that we usually support on an annual basis…they’re just not taking place,” said EESF President William “Bill” Jacaruso. “We’re just trying to pivot and be as helpful as we can in light of that.”

To start the 2020–’21 school year, the foundation has committed more than $10,000 to cover the costs of the virtual Scientist in Residence program and technology upgrades for teachers. These upgrades include 40 wireless headsets for online class instruction and a smart television for the physical education program.

“We bought the headphones in anticipation of virtual learning continuing,” said Jacaruso. “We bought a big screen for the gymnasium, so that they can teach gym while the kids are socially distanced.”

The process to apply for grants from EESF has also changed, to allow teachers “a more flexible timeline” so they can “apply for grants throughout the school year as unique programs are identified,” according to the Oct. 27 press release.

As in a typical year, “we allow the school to really drive the requests. We do have some things that we’re very interested in and it often goes hand and glove with the school,” said Jacaruso.

EES Principal Jennifer Tousignant expressed appreciation for the foundation’s contributions to the school this year.

“Though the current state of school is different than ever before, our school is fortunate to have the unwavering support and collaboration of the foundation,” she said.