This project is a yearly interdisciplinary project between an environmental science and chemistry class. We will know that our campaign is successful by seeing improved water quality data as well as greater awareness of local water issues within our school and local community. We would like to see the students conduct more outreach events in the future which will be our next goal.
Our students collect data on water quality samples. They test water in a local stream and determine what water quality issues might be occurring in our local community. The use the community map they generated to determine what impact humans might have on this local stream and then where this local stream ends up. This gives the students a local phenomenon to explore but the mapping project also asks them to go a bit more global. By testing water that will eventually end up in the LA River and then the Pacific Ocean students are considering what impact we have upstream and what that would mean further downstream. Our students then take the water quality data they have gathered and generate evidence-based service learning campaigns. For instance, this year we had a fire that occurred right next to the stream so students researched the impact of this fire and discussed the fire with firefighters. Then, the generated a series of informative posters to share with the community. Another group created a social media campaign about protecting newly-emerging riparian areas.
