Two eighth-grade environmental science classes at Thomas Jefferson Middle School have made water quality monitoring and education a priority.
During regular testing of the Salmon Creek Watershed through the Water Resources Education Center, students noticed heavy pedestrian traffic along the nearby trail and wanted to share with them the results of their monitoring efforts.
What began as an idea for a flier grew into kiosks along the trail and a website that launched in early June 2016. Two students built the kiosks as part of an Eagle Scout project, with a portion of the materials subsidized by the district. Students also designed and built the website, working outside of class hours to finish and verify the accuracy of their data. In addition, they learned how to coordinate with county and district officials.
“The students always work hard, but they’ve worked harder on this than anything else,” said teacher Karen Parrow, a National Board–certified teacher.
Next fall, Jefferson students will expand their project with data from the study of invasive plants.
(Photos courtesy of Karen Parrow.)