Mullein Hill Christian Academy -- March 15

41° 48' 39" N70° 58' 32" W

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EarthView returns to Mullein Hill Christian Academy, a small school in Lakeville. As with a previous visit, BSU students in my (Dr. Hayes-Bohanan's) course for future geography teachers will participate in the program.


I have enjoyed a number of geographic connections in Lakeville since coming to this area in 1997. One of the first online education projects I did (with the help of some geography students) was a simple web site about the bald eagles that nest at Assowompsett Pond, just 2-3 miles northeast of the Academy. In order to protect water resources in Lakeville for the benefit of New Bedford and Taunton, habitat has been made available to the eagles.



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Because of my interest in the geography of coffee -- including the ways that local coffee shops can be part of a community -- I have been very interested in Somethin's Brewin' Book Cafe, also in Lakeville. The cafe uses the town's former library, which is a beautiful example of an historic Carnegie Library -- one of 2,509 built throughout the world.

The relationship between humans and the environment is an important aspect of geography, and Stephanie's Perennials in Lakeville is a local business that helps people in the area improve that relationship by taking better care of gardens and landscaping.

Geography education is important at Mullein Hill, and I remember being impressed with how much students understood during our previous EarthView program there. The school web site sets a good example, by including an embedded map on the contact page of its web site.

This visit to Mullein Hill Christian Academy coincides with a geographic anniversary that is important for our region. From the 1647 until March 15, 1820, Maine was administered as a territory of Massachusetts. In fact, following the Revolutionary War, much of that territory was settled by Bay Staters whose land purchases helped to pay down the Commonwealth's war debts. On this date in 1820, however, Maine became an independent state, as part of the Missouri Compromise.