April 27, 2005

Science students test the waters

Biology class will present findings at Water Congress

By
Herald staff writer

      A single drop of water can tell you a lot about the health of a river - and students in Gayle Yarick's biology class at Traverse City Christian School plan to find out just how healthy the Boardman River is.
      The students spent a day at the Boardman River Nature Education Reserve last week, collecting samples on which they will perform a variety of water quality tests.
      "They will be looking for anomalies, anything different, to do further research on. The kids will have to come up with ideas on what further testing might be done," said Yarick, whose students will present their findings at the Water Watch Student Congress to be held in Traverse City on May 21.
      "This is an opportunity for them to get out and do some hands-on experimentation. They will do specific chemical tests and collect nine pieces of data from water collected at three different sites. These results will provide a base line for other classes to do testing in the future," Yarick said.
      With a lab testing kit, safety goggles and an eye for observation, students selected sites along the Boardman River Sabin Pond trailhead to collect and record samples.
      "I think the water quality tests will come out pretty good, the shore looks pretty clean," said 10th-grade student, Greg Peters, who knows that looks can be deceiving.
      "The water climate has to be very specific for the trout habitat. Sand is the number one pollutant of the Boardman. Sand can warm the temperature and cover up vegetation. It can throw off the trout's ability to reproduce," Peters noted.
      Fellow student, Lucas Bell, pointed out that humans also play a role in the health of a river.
      "Humans can really throw off the ecosystem. We found beer bottles and cans out there. Luckily it wasn't too bad," Bell said.
      In addition to testing the quality of the Boardman River, students planted grey dogwood and spicewood shrubs along the trail to prevent the growth of invasive species. Red and white pine trees were planted as a buffer between the Traverse City Area Public Schools bus garage and the natural area.
      "This is a part of Traverse City you don't usually see every day. It's really beautiful," Peters said.