Fall Stream Studies

Despite the cooler, wetter weather we experienced this summer in northwest PA, we have had a reasonably pleasant fall season.  Taking advantage of this weather are numerous students throughout the region learning how to study the health of their school/neighborhood's local streams.

The study began over two years ago in outreach intended to connect regional students and teachers with their local watersheds and natural waterways.  Being so close to Lake Erie, most schools have a stream within walking distance of their building.  It was the intent to have students explore their streams through hands-on testing and discovery and learn if that water is healthy.  While exploring, students are also making connections between the natural waterways and their daily lives.

Where is this water going?  (Lake Erie)

Where does the water from my school's faucet come from?  (usually Lake Erie, occasionally a local reservoir or set of wells)

If this creek flows to Lake Erie, and I swim/fish/boat/etc. in the lake, what does that mean for me?

The questions continue as the students become more involved in their studies.

Students from Clark Elementary learning what macroinvertebrates might live in Four Mile Creek

The students involved in this study range from state border to state border - Ohio to New York.  Some creeks are rural, some suburban, and some run right through the center of Erie or surrounding towns.

Four Mile Creek - upstream 

Clark 6th graders testing stream water

Students from JoAnna Connell Elementary spent several hours the last week of October exploring and testing the waters of Cemetery Run.  The fifth graders tested five different sites behind their school; two from the adjacent wetlands and three from the creek.  Small groups of students tested each site for levels of phosphates, nitrates, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, coliform bacteria, temperature, pH, and macroinvertebrates in the stream.  

Recording data

Not only have student groups been exploring the stream, they have also become stewards of their areas, cleaning up trash found in and around the creek and generally maintaining the site.

Connell students observing the site and recording data.

It is an invaluable experience for the students and staff to regularly study and explore their neighborhood waterways and natural areas.  Not only to understand how nature works, but also to create connections between themselves and their environment.  As the students begin to see themselves as part of their surroundings, and the beauty and value of them, they become stewards of the environment, taking care of the area year after year.