Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 6/28/2023
AGAWAM — At a June 16 ceremony, a two-acre site behind Agawam High School was dedicated to Henry Kozloski, the local educator and town board member who is largely credited with making it a reality two years ago.
For more than 50 years, Kozloski has used his passion for biology and the environment in public service. He is a retired biology teacher at West Springfield High School. As the chair of the Agawam Conservation Commission since 1970 and a member of the Agawam Community Preservation Committee since its adoption in 2003, Kozloski has been at the forefront of efforts to protect Agawam’s natural environment.
While serving on the board that manages Agawam’s Community Preservation Act funds, Kozloski advocated for creating the outdoor classroom and was instrumental in securing CPA funds for it. Mayor William Sapelli presented Kozloski with a framed copy of a resolution approved by the City Council and the School Committee. It recognizes his support and work to give students an area for hands-on learning about nature and the environment.
Sapelli said the dedication was “long overdue.” He said naming it the Henry A. Kozloski Outdoor Classroom finally recognizes Kozloski’s vision and commitment for “a wonderful outdoor classroom” facility. Friends and family of Kozloski, as well as town and school officials and AHS students and teachers who use the area, gathered for the special occasion.
In brief remarks after accepting the resolution, Kozloski made a point of explaining that many others were involved in the project.
“I appreciate this — it’s an honor — but it took a lot of people to make this happen, especially the teachers. It was going to be an open classroom and we asked them what they wanted. When they told us, we did it. It’s been a great project,” he said.
City Council President Chris Johnson was set to attend, but had a scheduling conflict. Johnson sent a message to Kozloski through the mayor telling him he wanted to extend the council’s gratitude to Kozloski “for his many years of dedicated service” to the town. Johnson said Kozloski’s “dedication and hard work have had a positive impact on our community.”
Planning for the outdoor classroom had been in the works since 2005, and construction began in 2018. Shawn Rumplik, the head of the AHS science department, said that 20 years ago the town didn’t own the land, but a former biology and environmental science teacher wanted to use the wooded area with her students.
“She took it upon herself to find out who owned the land and petitioned the town to buy it for educational purposes. We really wanted to be able to come out here and use it with our students. It’s a valuable resource for them,” said Rumplik, who spoke at the dedication.
He said when Kozloski took the reins, his vision helped to turn a forested area into an outdoor classroom, used primarily by biology and environmental science students.
“Over more than 10 years of working on this, one of the things Henry really wanted was for it to be accessible. Over and over again, the town planner said that’s going to be really hard to do with the slope. Henry said, no — that’s one of the requirements. It has to be accessible to everybody in the community and everybody in the school,” Rumplik said.
Kozloski “worked tirelessly” with town officials, environmental planners, and architects to plan the outdoor classroom. The area — which extends from the science wing — includes an accessible gravel path that Kozloski was adamant about including. It winds down through the woods, past a large seating area, and ends at a deck overlooking Three Mile Brook.
This unique classroom provides an area outside of the regular classroom for hands-on studies about nature and the environment. In addition to the science department, the outdoor classroom’s gardening beds are utilized by the high school’s agricultural program and for special education summer programs.
AP Biology classes perform an annual plant identification activity on the grounds of the outdoor classroom. Rumplik explained that students learn to identify more than 50 plants by preserving the identified plants in a binder. They also research each plant’s typical growth patterns and other facts that are incorporated into their plant binders.
“Learning the names of plants in nature gives students a whole new perspective on the environment,” he said.
The outdoor classroom is also used by Survival Science students who go outside throughout the year to learn about the science behind surviving in the wild.
“For example, students learn about orienteering, map making and shelter building. They observe animal tracks in the mud and in the snow. Students build water stills to purify water and even learn about primitive fire-making,” said Rumplik.
Since the brook meanders through the outdoor classroom, students can observe the water and the surrounding forest from the small deck overlooking the brook. AP Environmental Science students perform various water quality testing and measure the stream’s temperature, dissolved gases and nutrient concentrations.
Wi-fi access was recently added so students can connect to their Chromebooks for research while learning outside. Biology and environmental science classes use the outdoor classroom regularly, with students recording and photographing examples of ecological principles, such as nutrient cycles and feeding relationships.
“Over the years, students have seen many different types of animals on the property, including chipmunks, turkeys, deer and even a flying squirrel,” Rumplik said.
None of this would have been possible without Kozloski, but he said many CPA Committee members and other officials are also responsible. Sapelli said while it takes a team to pull a project like this together, every team needs a leader.
“Somebody who has a vision is somebody who’s going to be persistent in pursuing something they truly believe in,” said the mayor. “Without that, the other people wouldn’t have met. So, Henry, you were the ringleader for this whole thing. We greatly appreciate it.”