Environmental Science Class Participates in GREEN Project

(May 2007) RIVERHEAD--The Riverhead Central School District has a number of partnerships and programs of a scientific nature that give students real life experiences. A new partnership has been formed with Brookhaven National Lab’s Office of Educational Programs. This partnership between BNL, the Parks Department in the Town of Brookhaven and the schools is being called the “Open Space Stewardship Program” (OSSP) or the GREEN Institute (Gaining Research Experience in the ENvironment). The high school Environmental Science class taught by Ms. Linda Dowd is participating in the GREEN project.

The Project
In this collaborative program with BNL and the Town of Brookhaven, students engage in scientific research and projects related to protecting the environment. The primary program objectives include: students learning scientific protocol, analytical techniques and data collection. This program also promotes an appreciation and respect for wild and open spaces, fosters stewardship, scientific literacy and civic responsibility.

What they're testing
The students have been actively investigating the environmental health of the pond that lies just to the north of the High School. Students have been testing the pond for levels of dissolved oxygen, nitrogen, phosphate, pH and hardness. Their research has shown that nutrient levels and dissolved oxygen levels are low.

Preparations for soil analysis of the area are now underway and investigations of soil infiltration, moisture, pH and nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium are being planned. The students are also looking forward to cataloguing spring wildflowers. This past autumn the Environmental Science students identified and catalogued the genus and species of variety wildflowers such as Evening Primrose, Jewelweed, Butter and Eggs, as well as three poisonous plants: the deadly Nightshade, Jimsonweed, and the ubiquitous poison ivy.

Students have also observed a multitude of songbirds, mallards, frogs and snakes. Future projects include the construction of bird and bat houses and possibly reestablishing indigenous plants.

How they'll share the information collected
Due to the generosity and support of OSSP, our students have been able to make use of waders and nets in their research and will be conducting invertebrate studies by using a Berlese funnel. Students had an opportunity to interface with government agencies and elected officials through student presentations of data, conclusions and emerging issues during a celebration of OSSP’s first year at BNL.

Earth Day, Cleanups, and other activities
In addition to their research, the Environmental Science Class and students in the Key Club and the Science Club took part in a clean up of the pond just before Earth Day. Student’s removed many bags of litter from the area in an effort to return the area closer to its natural state. The clean up was just one of many activities that students were involved with in celebration of Earth Day. In addition to the clean up, the Environmental Science class posted quotes from famous environmentalists throughout the halls of RHS as a way to promote environmental awareness, and sponsored a bake sale. All donations went to the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation.

Just recently, students from the Environmental Science class and the Science Club also attended the “YouthCan Celebration” at the Museum of Natural History. YouthCan is an organization of high school students that are actively involved in environmental research projects. The celebration was a sharing of their work with an emphasis on youth empowerment.

GO GREEN, BLUE WAVES!

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