Green Meadow fifth graders filled plastic bottles turned upside down with small rocks, soil and four different seeds to create eco-columns last week.

For the rest of the school year, students will use these living laboratories as a focus of observation and data collections in science class.

“After crickets, isopods, mosquito fish and snails are placed in each eco-column, the columns will be sealed to remove the element of human interference,” said 5th Grade Teacher Diane Cohen. “The kids will observe, take notes and learn how a stable ecosystem is self-sustaining.”