For nearly seven years, Middletown High School biology teacher Sharon Steger has spent many hours getting students involved in helping their community and environment.

From getting their hands dirty in the Catoctin Mountain Park to collecting tickets for the Empty Bowls Banquet, Steger’s students offer their help.

“I think it’s just important to be helpful towards the community,” said Steger. “The kids get a whole lot out of it.”

About four years ago, Steger attended an Environmental Conference in Ocean City, Maryland. There she went to Trout in the Classroom training.

From then on, each year, Steger’s students are able to raise eggs from January to June. In June, the students take a field trip in Doubs Meadow Park in Myersville to release the trout into the creek there.

The Trout in the Classroom is one of Steger’s many service projects that she and her students participate in throughout the year. Other projects include removing barberry from Catoctin Mountain Park and Rebuilding Together.

Another project is In the Streets during the fall semester. There, Steger’s students do free face painting and promote recycling.

Being a strong advocate for getting involved, Steger said that students “have to be there to experience the feeling.”

Service is an “action,” said Steger. While bringing in canned food items is helpful to the food bank and the community, Steger said she believes that “students can do more.”

Commending her colleague, social studies teacher Sean Haardt, Steger said that he is also very involved in the service aspect of the classroom. Steger said that both she and Haardt believe that “there should be a preparation component, an action component and a reflection component.”

Service has always been an important part of Steger’s teaching career. When asked why she gets students so involved, Steger’s answer is simple: “I just think that it’s cool to watch to the kids and see how they interact,” when they are out in the community instead of in the classroom.