10 Years of Poquonook Solutions Projects
Last week, our ninth graders presented their capstone projects, the Poquonook Solutions Projects, to the IMS community.
Named after our campus mountain, the Poquonook Solutions Project (PSP) is a year-long, interdisciplinary initiative that integrates project-based learning with real contributions to the sustainability of our community. Building upon themes across Applied Biology, English, and History classes, students engage in work grounded in stewardship, interconnectedness, and agency. The project emphasizes creativity, collaboration, and practical application of knowledge.
Now in its tenth year, this year’s PSPs featured an intentional mindset shift. Rather than focusing on hyper-global issues, students were tasked with researching and developing systems that directly impact our local community.
In a time of such global uncertainty and fear, I have found that the best way to overcome my own anxiety and paralysis is by taking local action. That is what these students did.
Rooting themselves in place, students began individually by exploring how their sense of home and community shape the way they care for the world around them. Using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework, they then came together in groups to select a localized initiative to pursue. They reflected on curricular connections with their projects, adapted from feedback, and analyzed the longevity of their contributions.
This year’s projects tackled global issues in a local context, including solar power efficiency, native habitat and wildlife management, community safety, and more. One group, titled Safe Steps, notably organized a “Fun Run” at the Hotchkiss School to raise both funds and awareness for the construction of sidewalks along Route 41 in Salisbury, a notoriously unequipped road for pedestrians. Over forty participants joined the “Fun Run,” whose efforts totaled 513 laps, 128 miles, and 75.5 sidewalk lengths.
Pictured: IMS student participants at the Safe Steps’ “Fun Run” at the Hotchkiss School
It was shocking to realize how much of an impact we can make just being ninth graders at IMS. It definitely gave me a new appreciation for how much a caring, supportive community can make a difference.
Through these projects, students tackled global issues in a local context, contributing to the sustainability of our community in tangible and meaningful ways. Congratulations to our ninth graders on the completion of their capstone projects, and thank you to all of our faculty and staff advisors for supporting this year’s PSPs.