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THESIS

229V

LIBRARY
Michigan State
University

This is to certify that the
thesis entitled

The Effects of Urbanization and Human Activity on the Flint
River. A Comparative Study

presented by

Debra Kay Bassett

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for the

MS. degree In Biol 991

 

 

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MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested.

 

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2/05 p:/CIRC/Date0ue.indd-p.1

THE EFFECTS OF HUMAN ACTIVITY AND URBANIZATION ON THE FLINT
RIVER: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

By

Debra K. Bassett

A THESIS
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE

Division of Science and Math Education
College of Natural Science

2005

ABSTRACT

THE EFFECTS OF URBANIZATION AND HUMAN ACTIVITY ON THE FLINT
RIVER: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

By
Debra K. Bassett

In the fall of 2004, two classes of inner-city biology students conducted a
study of the effects that human activity had on their local river. In the past,
students at the school had shown very little interest in the ecology of the local
river and its watershed. It was believed, however, that if the students were
allowed to participate in the study of a real low! issue and were given the
opportunity to edumte the citizens of Flint about what they had learned, the
attitudes and opinions of the students, as well as their understanding of the river
ecology, would drastically change.

The students were taken to two sections of the Flint River to assess the
water quality and surrounding habitat - first to a rural area, then to a site in the
city. They discovered the difference in water quality, determined the reasons for
the difference and concluded what citizens might do to slow river degradation.

In the beginning the students were apathetic and disinterested. Alter their
study, however, they developed an active interest in the river. They were able to
succinctly state (in brochures that they developed and radio-broadcast public
service announcements that they wrote) how they, as well as others, could make
a difference in the health of the river. The students also demonstrated an
awareness and understanding of the ecology concepts with increased scores on

a post-unit test as compared to a pre-unit assessment.

Copyright by
DEBRA K. BASSETT
2005

DEDICATION

I dedicate this thesis to the memory of my dad, Carroll (Bud) Bassett, for instilling
in me a love of and respect for nature and the environment, thereby setting me
on this journey

and
My brother, Gary Bassett, whose advice, even though he’s gone, carried me

through this program:
“Don’t try to eat the whole elephant at once; take it one bite at a time.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that we never arrive at a place
without some help along the way. I have many people to thank for their love,
support and encouragement as I traveled this journey. Many people helped me,
each in their own way, many unaware that they had made a difference for me.

It is important that I name a few, for they made all the difference.

Dr. Merle Heidemann, thank you for your endless well of enthusiasm,
support and encouragement as well as your knowledge and expertise throughout
this entire program. You are a rare gem! Thanks, too, to Dr. Ken Nadler for
your knowledge, ideas, support. and encouragement.

A special thank you to Bart and Shelly Jones for so generously sharing
your home and land with us so that we could access the river. Thanks to CMU
GEAR-UP, Fishing Tackle Grab Bag, Hick’s Tackle, Beauchamp’s Hardware,
Union Printing, Schaeffer Office Source, WCLB (Club 93.7) and WDZZ (292.7)
for investing in our kids. Thanks, too, to Jarrett Trombley for always being there
to help and provide resources even though you’re even busier than lam!

Thanks to my parents, Jean and Don Williams for everything: your love,
encouragement, support, long—distance calls and for living without your computer
for months!

And finally, thanks to M.H. McBride for endless support, encouragement
and many, many sacrifices made along the way so that I could reach my own

goals. I can’t even begin to think howl would have done this without you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables ...................................................................................... viii
List of Figures ....................................................................................... ix
Introduction: Educational Theories ........................................................... 1
Hypothesis .......................................................................................... 17
Rationale for Study ............................................................................... 18
Timeline for River Study ........................................................................ 23
Implementation .................................................................................... 25
Results .............................................................................................. 33
Discussion .......................................................................................... 43
References ......................................................................................... 54
APPENDICES A - R ............................................................................ 59
Appendix A: State Standards & Benchmarks Satisfied by Unit ............. 60
Appendix B: Parent Consent Form ................................................. 62
Appendix C: Pre-Unit Test ............................................................ 65
Appendix D: Journal Rubric .......................................................... 67
Appendix E: Understanding Watersheds Worksheet Activity ............... 70
Appendix F: Pass It On Classroom Activity ..................................... 76

Appendix G: The Tragedy and Triumph of Minamata Article/Questions..78

Appendix H: Measuring Impervious Surfaces Lab Activity .................. 85
Appendix I: Stream Flow Practice ................................................. 88
Appendix J: Learning to Identify Benthic Macroinvertebrates ............... 90

vi

Appendix K: Polluted or Not Polluted Lab Activity .............................. 95
Appendix L: Field Manual for Water Quality Testing ........................ 105
Appendix M: Post-Unit Test .......................................................... 146

Appendix N: Public Service Announcements Written by Students ....... 149

Appendix 0: Brochures Written by Students .................................. 153
Appendix P: Post-Unit Student Survey .......................................... 159
Appendix Q: Pre— and Post Unit Test Scores per Test Item ................ 162
Appendix R: Paired T-test Results of Pre- and Post-Unit Test ............ 164
Appendix IS: Copyright Permissions ............................................ 166
Appendix T: UCRIHS Approval ................................................... 173

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Timeline for River Study ............................................................ 23
Table 2: Results of Post-Unit Student Survey/Evaluation ............................. 42
Table 3: Pre- and Post-Unit Test Scores per Test Item (Appendix Q) ............. 163

Table 4: Paired T-test Results of Pre- and Post-Unit Test (Appendix R) ....... 165

viii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Average Retention Rates for Different Teaching Methodologies ....... 14
Figure 2: Graph of Pre- and Post- Test Results ......................................... 34
Figure 3: Student Brochure One ........................................................... 154
Figure 4: Student Brochure Two ........................................................... 156

“Good science programs require access to the world beyond the classroom”

--National Science Education Standards, 1996

The field of education, and in particular science education, abounds with
ideas and theories about what is the best way to teach science. It is generally
agreed, however, that science can best be learned through hands-on learning. It
has been demonstrated that students who are involved in the hands-on process
of learning science are more motivated to learn (Yeany, 1989). Just as there
are many learning styles among students, teachers must use a number of
teaching strategies to reach as many students as possible. One popular theory
is that of inquiry-based learning, which became prominent in science education
classes during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s (Chiappetta, 1997). Although
there is no true single definition of “inquiry-based learning” (Short and Burke,
1996), the National Science Education Standards (1996) refers to it as “a set of
interrelated processes by which scientists and students pose questions about the
natural world and investigate phenomena”. They go on to state that “in doing so,
students acquire knowledge and develop a rich understanding of concepts,
principles, models and theories”.

In 1996 the National Research Council set forth the National Science
Education Standards in which they stressed the use of inquiry as a “critical
component of a science program at all grade levels and in every domain of
science”. The US. Department of Education and the National Science

Foundation endorse the use of inquiry-based learning and problem solving, as

well, agreeing that it is a method that will motivate students to learn (Haury,
1993). Further, Haury (1993) states that there is evidence that inquiry-based
learning “fosters science literacy and understanding of science, conceptual
understanding, critical thinking and positive attitudes toward science”. Martin-
Hansen (2002) describes inquiry as “activities of students mirroring what
scientists do” and states further that of the types of inquiry that exist (open or full
inquiry, guided inquiry, coupled inquiry [open with guidance], and structured
inquiry), the type of inquiry chosen for the individual science classroom should
reflect the specific needs of the learners in the class.

In keeping with this thought, it is sometimes desirable to utilize a type of
structured inquiry in which the inquiry is directed by the teacher and the students
are directed to collect particular data, then guided through the process of
formulating an answer to their inquiry (Martin-Hansen, 2002; Goodman and
Bernston, 2000). In this way, the teacher can pique the students’ curiosity, and
then by example help the students understand the nature of inquiry and the
processes that are utilized in answering scientific questions. Goodman and
Bernston (2000) suggest that it is important to consider the academic level of
one’s students, the environment from which they come (rural, suburban, inner-
city) and the previous knowledge that they bring to the class when developing
activities. They propose that the students need to have a basic understanding of
the concepts being studied before they can pose a meaningful question for
inquiry. This is in keeping with the belief held by Duschl (1986) that inquiry-

related teaching “does not preclude textbooks and other materials, rather it

should accompany and support them”. The concept of a teacher-directed inquiry
can also overcome some inherent problems such as the lack of background
knowledge, or students who are hesitant to think for themselves, because they
are used to being “fed correct answers and regurgitating them on tests and
quizzes” (Lawson, 2000). Indeed, Edwards (1997) states that the “present
education system promotes providing answers for students to memorize then spit
out on a test”. Windschitl and Buttemer (2000) concur with this and assert that
many students are “too comfortable assimilating knowledge produced by others
via text, direct instruction and overly structured classroom lab exercises”. They
see structured inquiry, then, as being valuable to learners who “have little or no
experience in developing questions themselves”.

Windschitl and Buttemer (2000) also believe that inquiry can build
confidence, while giving the students the experience of being “scientists”. It is a
way to for the student to “connect” with science in a personal way. They assert
that “a first hand experience with scientific inquiry can be more important for
developing scientific literacy than all the well-designed discussions or inspiring
lectures”. Uyeda et al (2002) agree, maintaining that too often a “disconnect”
takes place between “real science” and “school science”. They add that inquiry-
based science can combine the two, connecting students to science, as well as
helping them to comprehend the connection between science and society.
Further, students will learn that “doing science” is far more than simply following

a few rote and inflexible steps that we teach as the scientific method. Instead,

they will find that science is not just a collection of cookbook laboratory
experiments but a reiterative learning process.

In keeping with this thinking, the American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS), in their Science for All Americans Summary,
asserts that “teaching related to science literacy needs to be consistent with the
spirit and character of scientific inquiry and with scientific values. This includes
starting with questions about phenomena rather than answers.” They go on to
say that science should be “learned by engaging students actively in the
collection and use of evidence...providing students with hands-on experience”
(AAAS, 1995).

Another benefit of scientific inquiry by students is that they have more
control over their own learning. When the students are focused on their inquiry,
they will learn the content as well (Uyeda, et al 2002). AAAS makes the
assertion that “myths and stereotypes that young people have about science are
not dispelled when science teaching focuses narrowly on the laws, concepts, and
theories of science” (1993). Thus, science should be taught as a way of knowing
by students gaining experience in actual scientific investigation and being able to
explain their findings, rather than being told what others have found. The
National Research Council agrees. In their National Science Education
Standards (NSES), the council maintains that among the strategies for teaching
science, teachers must “reflect the acquisition of scientific understanding through
inquiry (so that) students will learn science in a way that reflects how science

actually works” (1996) In having the opportunity to test their own ideas,

investigate a question for themselves, derive their own data, and reach their own
conclusions, students will see that science is truly an ongoing, active process.
The way for students to achieve these skills is by actively participating in
authentic scientific investigations. Students who simply observe teachers
demonstrating science or who passively listen to a lecture are less motivated to
solve problems independently than those who are allowed to experience “hands-
on” science inquiry (Glasson, 1989).

According to many researchers, in order for students to derive meaning
from the inquiry-based experiences that they do have, they must be able to adapt
their new experiences and knowledge to their pre-existing knowledge and views
of the world. This school of thought is known as the constructivist theory, which
is one of the most prominent theories in education (Bencze, 2004). Piaget, a
leading proponent of constructivism, wrote that children’s minds were not empty
- rather they “actively process material presented and assimilate it into their own
schema or adapt their ideas to accommodate new ideas” (Atherton, 2003).

Constructivists believe that students construct their own understanding of
the world and their own knowledge. In other words, students learn based on
their own experiences and preconceived ideas (lshii, 2003). According to Suping
(2003), students may have preconceptions that can easily be revised or altered
by receiving instruction, or they may hold misconceptions that are more resistant
to change. Chi and Roscoe (2002) believe that students can be taught

conceptual change in order to repair those misconceptions by helping them to

see the new thought as rational. Authentic investigation conducted by the
student is one way to do so.

In either case, it is generally agreed upon by most constructivists that
students must either assimilate the new knowledge into their existing concepts or
accommodate the new experience or knowledge into their existing view. Posner,
et al (1982) suggests that the new knowledge must be rational and plausible to
the student, and must create dissatisfaction with the ideas that they already have
regarding the concepts.

Students will approach the study of science with preconceived notions that
they may be hesitant to give up. In addition, because learning new ideas is
dependent on adapting the new knowledge to what is already known or
conceived, the pre-existing notions may affect the way that a student observes,
hypothesizes, analyzes and concludes ideas (Bencze, 2004). Lorsbach and
Tobin (1997) propose'that students should be given the opportunity to make
sense of their new knowledge by comparing it to what they already know and
believe, then reconciling any conflict between them. To encourage this, students
should, instead of sitting at desks, be given opportunities to experience science,
then work out its meaning and relevance to their lives and views. One way to
accomplish this is through inquiry-based investigations by the students.

Bencze (2004) suggests that before we try to teach new ideas and
concepts to students we should first have students express their existing
conceptions. He states that because students will “see what they want to see” it

is not enough to give the students new ideas and experiences and expect them

to make the same discoveries or reach the conclusions that we are trying to get
them to reach. They will “discover what is apparent to them” unless they are
given the skills and experiences that will assist them in their learning. He goes
on to say that telling or showing students abstract ideas is inadequate in leading
them to knowledge. Instead, they should have “concrete” experiences to
combine with those ideas in order to change their thinking. “Education should be
about enlightening others, not convincing them. We need to help them
understand. They decide whether or not to accept” (Bencze, 2004). Concluding
scientific investigations has the potential to be those experiences.

Paul Ernest (1996) recommends that teachers maintain a sensitivity to the
students’ previous knowledge, as well as an awareness of the contrast between
the teacher’s goals and the students” goals. Brooks & Brooks (1999) suggest
that lessons should be structured around the pre-existing concepts to minimize
the amount of accommodation necessary to assimilate the new concepts. (The
students’ pre-existing knowledge and conceptions can be ascertained by
conducting pre-unit assessments prior to the teaching of a unit.) It is important to
consider the experiences that students bring to the classroom. These
experiences may be affected by lifestyle differences such as culture or
socioeconomic level, and the students’ exposure, experiences and
preconceptions may be completely different than those of students from a
different culture or higher socioeconomic level. Bencze (2004) declares that
those who are the least likely to “discover” the important ideas from inquiry are

those who are disadvantaged, which is often tied to socioeconomic level. The

concepts of the world held by students will affect the way they approach science
as well as functioning as “filters” for their accommodation of new concepts and
knowledge (NSES, 1996), “modifying its subsequent meaning” (Stahl, 1991).

Lorsbach and Tobin (1997) stress that knowledge “resides in individuals; it
cannot be transferred intact from the head of teacher to the heads of students”.
Students, then, try to make sense of what is being taught by attempting to fit it in
and around his/her prior experience.

Inquiry-based learning fits well into the constructivist theory in that it
provides students with the type of experience that allows the student to establish
the connection between the knowledge and concepts that they presently hold
with the new scientific knowledge found in inquiry (NSES, 1996). Glasson (1989)
concurs when he writes that the practice of hands—on inquiry “promotes peer
interaction where students are free to argue, make mistakes and challenge each
other — these stimulate conceptual conflicts in students, who are then motivated
to resolve discrepancies between what they already know and what they have
seen in the hands-on lab”. This in turn, according to Glasson, will lead to the
accommodation of new concepts. Chiappetta (1997) also expresses agreement
when he writes that “inquiry-based instruction will help students construct
fundamental science concepts that will help them better understand themselves
and the world around them”. Haury (1993) upholds this tenet, as well, by stating
that inquiry-based teaching “engages students in investigations to satisfy
curiosities, with curiosities being satisfied when individuals have constructed

mental frameworks that adequately explain their experiences”.

How to stimulate the students’ curiosity is another challenge. However, if
\ the concept that they are being taught has been made meaningful and relevant
to their lives, and if they perceive it to be an authentic investigation, students will
be more engaged in the investigation. The National Science Teachers’
Association (NSTA), in its Standards for Science Teacher Preparation (2003)
points out that teachers must be “creative decision-makers who adapt and create
meaningful activities”.

The National Research Council, in the National Science Education
Standards states that “an important purpose of science education is to give
students a means to understand and act on personal and social issues (as well
as) give students a foundation on which to base decisions they will face as
citizens” such as community health, natural resources, environmental quality,
natural and human-induced hazards and the interdependence of organisms
(NSES, 1996). They go on to say that one of the biggest challenges of science
teachers‘today is to make scientific investigations meaningful to the students.
Windschitl and Buttemer (2000) agree, stating that meaningfulness is tied to the
personal interest of the students and must connect to their own world of
experience. Students need to feel that their inquiry and study is in response to a
legitimate problem or question.

AAAS (1993), in their Benchmarks for Science Literacy, maintains that it is
necessary that students know that scientists contribute information to the public
about areas of concern. They should understand, as well, that scientists can

help the public understand the cause and effects of natural and man-made

events. In addition, students should learn subject matter in the context of inquiry
into science that has a personal and social perspective (NSES, 1996). Students
must be motivated to become interested and then guided in making
observations. Newman, Wehlage and Lamborin (1992) believe that
disengagement, not low achievement, is the “most immediate and persisting
issue” for students today. They go on to state that students who are engaged in
their learning make a psychological investment in their education. Vlfigfield and
Eccles (1992) assert that since tasks in education are often just rituals that
students perceive as meaningless and unrelated to them personally, lessons
should be developed that students will see as meaningful, valuable and
significant to their lives beyond school i.e. “connected to the real world”. In
agreement with that principle, the National Research Council (1996) advises that
“teachers should remember that some experiences begin with little meaning for
students but develop meaning through active involvement, continued exposure
and growing skill and understanding”. Students should be motivated to become
interested, and can then be guided in their learning. Bringle and Hatcher (1999)
propose that students are “more satisfied with the learning experience and the
educational outcomes are enriched and deepened when learning is more
relevant”.

One school of thought on the best way to get students engaged is to allow
them to work in “learning teams”; in other words, engage in cooperative learning.
Cooperative learning has been highly promoted by many educational theorists

(Hillkirk, 1991). Babbage (1998) believes that students are eager to learn and

10

like to be involved in their own learning. It is his belief that interaction with other
students causes learning. Yager (1991) maintains that even academically
talented students, in order to retain new information, need to participate in
discussion with their peers. Lord (1998) explains that the use of cooperative
learning groups promotes constructivist learning by allowing students to test their
newly attained knowledge through discussing the information with other students.
He continues by saying that with rote memorization, students don’t really have
the chance to apply the new knowledge that they have obtained, but the
discussion with others allows them to “manipulate and fit the material” with what
they already know. He cites a study by Tinto (1987) that found that many
students cannot apply the new knowledge they have learned in class to everyday
situations. However, Lord (1994) found that knowledge, comprehension and
critical thinking skills increased significantly in cooperative learning groups, with
the knowledge being retained longer when applying it in that setting. In addition,
most of the students who worked in cooperative learning groups during the
research said they enjoyed learning from each other and enjoyed class more
when working in their groups. Lord cites additional research in enumerating the
other proven benefits of cooperative learning. Students have shown higher
achievement, increased motivation, more positive attitudes toward the subject
being taught, less disruptive behavior and increased on-task behavior. He
concludes by stating that students do not learn by being “passive bystanders” in
their learning process. Rather, they need lessons that will cause them to think

about, discuss and use what they are being taught.

11

Others advocate cooperative learning, as well.. Niaz, et al (2002)
determined that when students are given the opportunity to argue and discuss
their new knowledge, their “understanding can go beyond simple regurgitation of
detail”. In addition, when students are part of a cooperative learning group, they
have to organize their new knowledge and make connections as they explain and
question. Further, students learn through interactions with peers who are more
academically capable (INTIME, 2005). Windschitl and Buttemer (2000) believe
that students should be allowed to argue the validity of a concept in order to
reconstruct their thinking. It ends in the cognitive conflict that can lead a student
to question his/her understanding and investigate new ideas.

In addition to communicating ideas to other classmates in a cooperative
learning setting, NSES (1996) suggests that students apply new knowledge in
context by communicating their scientific investigations and explanations to the
public. This can take place in the form of service learning projects in which
students conduct a scientific inquiry into an issue that is relevant to both the
students and the community and share that knowledge with the citizens of the
community. Service learning is a teaching/learning method that connects
meaningful service with academic learning and civic responsibility. According to
the National Youth Leadership Council (1991), service learning helps students
transfer the experiences and knowledge they have attained to their everyday
lives by applying their learning to help solve a real concern in the community.
Lindberg (1990) states: “When students are involved in hands-on science, when

they actually do science, they understand science. But when they teach what

12

they have learned, it becomes part of them, stored safely in their memory banks”.
Greenwald (2000) also believes this is the case. He writes that an important part
of inquiry-based education is the communication of ideas in which students
present what they have learned to their peers, teachers and others.

John Dewey stated: “Exposure itself does not necessarily result in
learning. It becomes educative when there is communication with others.
Further communication leads to social development” (In Bringle & Hatcher,
1999). Turner (2003) concurs and states that the practical application of newly
acquired knowledge can bring learning to life. She goes on to add that recent
pre- and post-survey research indicates that students who were involved in
service learning projects maintained a higher grade point average than their
counterparts who participated in typical classroom learning.

Research has shown that students who experience the practical
application of their new knowledge either by practicing the concept or teaching
others have a much higher retention rate than students taught by other methods.

(see figure 1 - next page)

13

 

5%
Hear

 

 

 

     
   
 

1 0%
Read

 

20%
Audio-Visual

 

30%
Demonstrations

 

50%
Discussions

 

75%
Practice

 

90%
Teach Others

 

Figure 1. Average Retention Rates for Different Teaching Methodologies
California Department of Education (1999)

14

The Alliance for Service-Learning in Education Reform (1995) states that
in today’s society youth are not seen as contributing members of society. They
strongly suggest that in order to be given credit for their work, achievements and
newly acquired skills, students should be given the opportunity to be publicly
recognized for their contributions, either through work with the school or the
community.

Finally, service-learning projects fulfill several of the Content Standards
and Benchmarks of the State of Michigan (see appendix A) by giving the
students the knowledge and skills to apply their new knowledge to the real world.

As mentioned earlier in this paper, one would be remiss by not
considering the “audience” when developing lesson plans. Whatever the
students’ backgrounds might be it is not unusual for students to have been
“turned off” to science. They may, in fact, resent science due to a lack of
understanding and success during earlier science experiences. Hoots (1999)
writes: “Scientific papers and science texts do not reflect the spirit of science
itself with its imagination, errors, tenacity, emotions and, most of all, its artistic
passion. . . .all the features associated with scientific creativity have been purged
from it.” She goes on to say that “knowledge without meaning or understanding
is nothing more than empty rhetoric”. Hoots suggests that this has resulted in a
widely accepted “social aversion and phobia to science” and says that science
needs to be humanized and made meaningful to students. In other words,
teachers need to put “life back into biology”. Krupa (2000) asserts that one way

to do that is to involve students in field trips that will develop an appreciation of

15

nature and the environment. He suggests that in the face of declining funds, field
trips have been put aside and the price for that will be fewer opportunities for
young people to learn about the natural world, thus creating a lack of new
naturalists (an area where inner-city youth are under-represented). Krupa
strongly urges biology teachers to use nature as a classroom, stressing that
there is nothing that can replace direct contact with the environment to learn what
it is about.

Bicak (1997) believes this as well. He maintains that in order to establish
an “environmental ethic”, there must be an acquired insight into nature. The
problem, as he sees it, is that most people spend the majority of their time in an
urban setting and very little time in a rural environment. Thus, he says, students
must be directly exposed to nature and the environment in order to establish an
environmental ethic and, hopefully, a “passion for the environment”. NSTA
(2003) speaks to this issue: “science teachers should give explicit attention to the
study of socially important issues related to science and technology such as
species preservation, land use and chemical pollution.” NSTA adds that
teachers must contribute to helping students become informed citizens who are
prepared to “make decisions and take action on contemporary issues of interest
to general society”.

O’Neal (1995), while acknowledging that field trips are not a new idea,
says that due to the current environmental crisis, science education should play a
vital role in promoting “environmental literacy” and awareness. He points out that

although ecology taught from textbooks and videos might have some

16

advantages, there is nothing that can compare to the experience of being in the
environment and having a first-hand encounter with nature. He goes on to
remind us that many students have never been in a natural environment and that
visiting a local habitat could provide the motivation necessary for students to
learn. He adds that “to see, smell, hear, and touch the environment leaves an
indelible mark on the minds of students”.

Klepper (1990) agrees. She states that there is no substitute for a hands-
on experience with the environment that students take for granted and that a field
trip can be an enormous help towards shaping adults who are aware of the
importance of preserving our environment. She argues that one afternoon of
allowing nature to be the teacher is more worthwhile than a series of lectures!

Finally, the NSTA (2003) recommends that teachers should utilize
resources outside of the school in their teaching so the students can relate
science to the local community and its important issues. This, they say, should
be in the form of guest speakers, field trips, service learning and in the study of
local problems.

HYPOTHESIS

Taking these ideas into consideration, the goal of this unit was to increase
the students’ knowledge about the river ecosystem and the interdependency of
the river’s organisms and the humans that inhabit the area around it. This would
include observing/studying the effects of daily human activity on the river. By
employing a combination of teaching strategies that would provide the students

with an inquiry-based, hands-on investigation and the opportunity to share their

17

new knowledge with others, the students would construct and retain a new
knowledge base about the ecology of the Flint River. In addition, by comparing
two sites of the same river, the students would be able to see the effects that
human activity and urbanization have had on the Flint River. It was a goal, as
well, that the opinions and attitudes of the students toward the river and their
responsibility to it would change as a result of having a personal experience with
the river. My final goal was to develop a unit that met the majority of the
benchmarks and standards set forth by the State of Michigan for a secondary
school biology class studying the topic of Ecology. (See appendix A)
RATIONALE FOR STUDY

The students who participated in this study attend Flint Northern High
School, an inner-city secondary school that is part of the Flint Community School
District. It is a district that is in great transition and is in serious financial trouble.
In the past two years, a dozen schools have been closed and nearly 300
employees have been laid off due to declining enrollment. The yearly classroom
budget allotted for supplies for science classrooms has dropped to $375.00,
many of the textbooks are outdated and the classes are usually overcrowded.

The majority of our 1,392 Northern students are minorities (98% African-
American, 0.3% Hispanic), mostly from low-income families (69% of Flint
students are eligible for government-funded free lunch), with 12% of Northern
students living with someone other than a parent. For the students who do live
with their parent(s), there is very little parental involvement in their academic life.

At the last parent-teacher conference, I had a visit from the parents of 28 of my

18

165 students. At the present time, there are three students in the school carrying
a 4.0 GPA, while 55% of the students carry a GPA below a 2.0. Reading tests
conducted with the incoming 9th graders two years ago revealed the average
reading level to be at 5th grade. The retention/graduation rate is 29%, and
special education students make up 27% of the student body.

The Flint Community Schools created a program (Magnet Program) for
students who are considered to be “college-bound” that endeavors to give the
students a more challenging classroom experience, while grouped with other
students with similar goals. Thisprogram gives students from the other schools
in the district the opportunity to attend classes across town in schools providing a
somewhat higher level of instruction and increased expectations of the students.
The schools each have their individual “specialty” areas, with Northern being the
Science/Math Magnet School. The students attend the Magnet school for one or
two hours, then return to their “home” school for the remainder of the day.

I teach the Magnet Biology class referred to as Specialty Biology 1&2.
The class is intentionally limited in number, typically15-18 students, and the
majority of the students are in the 9th grade. After the students successfully
complete this class, they have the option of moving into the Specialty Biology
3&4 class. With this sequence, the students are provided a more in-depth look at
various topics in biology rather than a general overview of all of the chapters of
the book. Until last year, neither Specialty Biology class included any instruction

in Ecology. I requested, and was granted, permission to add Ecology to the

19

Specialty Biology curriculum; I taught Ecology in that class for the first time in the
spring of 2004.

While teaching the new unit on Ecology to my Specialty Biology class, we
began a discussion of the Flint River, which runs through the heart of Flint. I
discovered that the majority of my students had no idea that the run-off from the
street sewer drains empties directly into the river. Not only did they not realize
that the sewer drains empty directly into the river, most thought the run-off went
to the water treatment plant or to a huge holding tank under the street. Upon
further query, I discovered that the students had no knowledge about
watersheds, river ecology or the impact of human activity on the health of the
river. Most disturbing was their total lack of interest in the Flint River and their
impact on it. None of them knew that the Flint River eventually empties into Lake
Huron’s Saginaw Bay where it joins the source of Flint’s drinking water at Port
Huron. It became my desire to increase their knowledge and awareness of the
river, and to change their attitude of apathy as well. It was with this in mind that I
developed this unit on the impact of urbanization and human activity on the Flint
River.

In the process of the study, the students would develop research skills by
conducting a scientific inquiry. They would learn to gather, record and analyze
data, conduct on-site water quality tests, collect and identify indicator organisms,
and conduct fieldwork. As part of that fieldwork, they would be exposed to the
field ethics of caution and respect for the environment and the living organisms

that reside there. By conducting this inquiry themselves, the students would also

20

acquire the skills of observation and interpretation, working and cooperating in
teams, problem solving and decision-making. It was my goal that by performing
water quality tests, habitat assessment, and macroinvertebrate surveys on the
river in both areas and comparing the findings, the students would discover the
links between land use, human activity and water quality. In addition, the
students would develop communication skills by being required to share what
they had learned with other students and the community at large as a service-
leaming project in order to reinforce the knowledge they gained during the course
of their study. It was also my intention to make it relevant to their life by giving
them a personal, hands-on experience with an ecosystem that they see every
day and feel no ownership or interest in - were, in fact, repelled by.

While many secondary school Ecology units include a trip to the river for
water quality testing, I couldn’t find the value in one-time testing without
something with which to compare the data. I was convinced that the lesson for
the students was in what the river quality should and could be; indeed, what the
river quality is in areas where there is less damaging human activity and less
urbanization. I believed that the only way to personalize this lesson for the
students was to let them make this discovery for themselves, then share that new
knowledge with others.

Prior to this unit, the students were taught the fundamentals of Ecology
beginning with the study of biomes, habitats, populations/communities, and
interactions of organisms with their environment. We discussed, at length, the

use of resources and the students were asked to keep track of the water usage

21

in their home for one week to raise their awareness of how much water they
consumed weekly. As the study of ecology narrowed down to different
ecosystems, our focus turned to the river ecosystem, and finally to the Flint River

and the Flint River Watershed as the developed unit began.

22

TIMELINE FOR RNER STUDY

This table will outline the five-week unit in which the Specialty Biology 1
8 2 students will study the effects of urbanization and human activity on the

Flint River. The tests, worksheets, labs, field guide, etc. can be found in

Appendices C-P at the end of this thesis.

Table 1

 

WEEK
ONE

Flint River History - homework assignment

Pre-assessment of knowledge of river ecology, pollution, Flint
River/Opinion paper to determine attitudes towards the role
the students play in the health of the river/Begin discussion of
Flint River quality status

LECTURE: What is a watershed? Use model to demonstrate

Darren Bagley from MSU Extension to speak to class about
Flint River Watershed and groundwater issues

Watershed Worksheet Packet to assess understanding of
concept

Pass It On Activity followed by discussion: What’s in a river
and what is its value? Where does the Flint River start and
where does it end? How does it affect me? How does
pollution get passed down the river?

Minamata article, analysis questions and class discussion

 

WEEK
TWO

What do we mean by urbanization? Tex-town computer lab
What is storm water? Where does it come from? Where does
it go? (Use drain blueprints) - how does urbanization affect
this?

Demonstration of storm sewer model vs. percolation into
ground

Use handouts and brochures to reinforce ideas about
storrnwater, groundwater, watersheds and solutions to
problem

Stoichiornetry for calculating runoff from impermeable
surfaces to be used during the measuring lab tomorrow
Conduct Measuring lmperrneable Surfaces lab

3

 

WEEK
THREE

Polluted or Not Polluted Lab - two or three days in
preparation for the field study — students should be able to
demonstrate understanding of tests

Identifying critters from the river to prepare for field trip
collection

Stream flow practice

DISCUSS FIELD TRIP - rules and guidelines, tasks, safety
South Branch of Flint River — Metamora FIELD TRIP

.-
r

 

 

WEEK
FOUR

 

Kearsley Park - Flint River/Gilkey Creek FIELD TRIP

Round Robin discussion on what we have seen so far and
what the student impressions are (rural, “natural” area vs
urban river, effects of human activity; effects of urbanization
Journal assignment to assess understanding of concepts that
we have studied through field trips and testing

Appoint teams for service-leaming projects and begin work
on brochures, pcflers, public service announcements for
radio broadcast

 

 

23

 

 

 

WEEK
FIVE

 

Finish public service announcements and fax for approval
Take brochure to printer

Hang posters in school

Post-assessment test

Final opinion journal entry to assess understanding of unit
concepts as well as detect any changes in attitudes/opinions
Student evaluation of unit

 

 

24

 

IMPLEMENTATION

The students involved in the study of this unit included both sections of
Specialty Biology 1&2. The classes were somewhat larger this year than normal
(a typical Magnet class has around eighteen students), one section having
twenty-five students, the other having twenty-four. Due to counselor errors,
several of the students enrolled in the class did not qualify academically for
Magnet classes but were forced to stay due to a lack of room in other General
Biology classes. The forty-nine students were comprised of thirty-one girls and
eighteen boys; thirty-nine were 9th graders, ten were 10th graders. Forty-four
students/parents consented to have their data used for this study. (Consent form
— appendix B)
Week One

In order to meet the goals established for this unit, five weeks were set
aside for the study of the Flint River. The unit began with an assignment in which
the students were asked to write about the history of the Flint River, starting in
the 1700’s. This was intended to demonstrate to the students that the river was
once a vital, healthy river that was literally the lifeblood of the community. They
were also asked to write an opinion paper entitled, “What Does the Flint River
Have To Do With Me?” to assess the attitudes and opinions of the students prior
to this study.

In addition to the opinion papers, the students’ prior knowledge about
watersheds, the Flint River, and river pollution was assessed by conducting a

pretest (see appendix C). After the test was completed, the students were

25

instructed to keep a daily journal regarding their impressions, new information
learned, labs, activities, assigned writings and field trips (see appendix-D for
journal rubric). ‘

In the opening lecture of the unit, the students were introduced to the
concept of watersheds, runoff, groundwater and pollution. The students learned
that a river can be healthy or unhealthy, depending on what is in it, and we
discussed what effect the surrounding habitat has on the river. We discussed
where runoff comes from, where it goes, and we looked at the flow of
groundwater as well. A watershed model that I developed was used to
demonstrate how the water flows over the land and to the river from the area of
the watershed. Overhead transparencies were used which illustrated and
outlined the Flint River watershed and its boundaries, showing that seven
counties are included in the watershed. A several-page watershed exercise was
given to the students to assess their understanding of the ideas presented. (See
appendix E).

A speaker from the Michigan State University Cooperative Extension
spoke to the students about watersheds, the Flint River, groundwater and the
impact that humans have on the river when they pollute. The speaker is the
president of the Flint River Watershed Coalition who brought a functioning
groundwater model to demonstrate how both run off and groundwater enter the
river, carrying with them pollution that is in or on the ground.

“Pass It On” is a simple activity that was used to stress the impact of

human activity on the river (see details in appendix F). It is through this activity

26

that the students see that whatever they do with their land will be carried
downstream to the other parts of the river.

An article, The Tragedy and Triumph of Minamata, about the mercury
poisoning, and subsequent cover up, of the town of Minamata, Japan, was given
to the students at the end of the first week to read along with analysis questions
to answer regarding the article (see appendix G). A class discussion was held
about the article the following day.

WEEK TWO

Week two was dedicated to studying the effects of urbanization and daily
human activity on the river. Handouts obtained from the Department of
Environmental Quality, the US. Environmental Protection Agency, University of
Vlfisconsin Extension Environmental Resource Center, and the Michigan Sea
Grant College Program were given to the students to read and a class discussion
was held regarding the content of the brochures. The handouts were intended to
help the students visualize some of the concepts (such as watersheds, storm
water, human activity and the preventions of. river pollution) that we had talked
about up to that point.

During a computer lab, students accessed a website called “Tox-Town”,
(http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/townlmain.html) an interactive site in which they
visited different sites (including homes, schools and businesses) in a typical town
to see what types of pollution are routinely released into the water supply from

each site.

27

At this point in the unit, the goal was to pull together the idea of
urbanization’s effect on the river due to creation of impervious surfaces,
increased human activity and the resulting runoff into the river. The lecture
focused on the storm water that drains into the river via storm sewers, the
pollution that is carried along with it to the river, and the vast increase in runoff to
the drains clue to the impermeable surfaces that result from urbanization. A
model of the street drain system alongside a grass-covered soil plot was used to
demonstrate the difference in the amount of runoff from an impervious surface
compared to the amount of runoff from a grass-covered soil area. Blueprints of
the drains in the neighborhood of the school were shown to the students to help
them visualize how the drains in their own streets reach the river.

The students conducted 3 “Measuring lmperrneable Surfaces” lab to
reinforce the idea of the increased amount of runoff to the river from impervious
surfaces (see appendix H). The students were divided into groups and given an
impervious area of the school campus to measure (parking lots, school roof,
sidewalks, track, etc). Once the measurements were taken, the students
returned to the classroom where, based on the inches of rainfall that month and
the square feet of impervious surface on the school campus, they converted the
measurements to gallons of runoff. This led to a discussion of the amount and
types of waste that could be carried into the river as a result of the stormwater
running over the land before it reaches the storm drains that empty into the river.
A journal entry was assigned to evaluate the students’ understanding of these

ideas.

28

WEEK THREE

The students were prepared for the trips to the two sections of the river
where they would be testing water quality. Lecture and discussion focused on
the types of tests, test parameters, what the results indicate and the reasons they
were being done. The students were broken into teams, each team was
assigned a specific test or assessment. They practiced the tests/assessments
that they would perform at the river sites during a lab exercise entitled “Polluted
or Not Polluted” (see appendix K). During this lab, teams were to determine if
water samples that were given to them were contaminated. The samples
included distilled water, river water from town and river water that contained
fertilizer (to represent phosphates and/or nitrates). This allowed the ‘water-test’
teams to become familiar with the tests, see what positive and negative tests
would yield, and master the skill of collecting samples.

The ‘stream flow’ team practiced in the hall using the hall as the river and
tennis balls to determine the velocity of the “river”. They practiced using
stopwatches to time the “flow” of the river by rolling the balls in the hallway, then
practiced calculating the velocity of the “river”. They also measured the hall with
meter tapes to determine the width and depth (given to them), and then used all
of the data to determine the stream flow of their “river" (see appendix I).

The ‘habitat assessment’ team studied the assessment sheet and
discussed the types of things that they would be looking for at the river site. The

‘macroinvertebrate’ team spent their time in the lab learning to recognize/identify

29

macroinvertebrates that I had collected during the summer from the sites we
would visit (see appendix J).

On Friday of that week, the classes visited the first testing site, the South
Branch of the Flint River near the headwaters in Metamora, Michigan. The site
was by the home of a family who lives in Metamora, and we were allowed to
enter the river from their property. Some of the students from the teams were
given waders and went into the river to collect water for testing, collect
macroinvertebrates for identification and to conduct the stream flow study. The
other members of the teams set up stations for conducting tests for phosphates,
dissolved oxygen, turbidity, temperature, pH, nitrates, and E. Q.
Macroinvertebrates were collected, identified and released, habitat assessment
was performed and recorded, and the stream flow study was conducted. (See
appendix L for Field Manual)

WEEK FOUR

Week four began with a discussion of the trip on the previous Friday and
the students entered their impressions into their journals. The water quality data
was shared among the students, the Q—test for determining water quality was
applied and the macroinvertebrates were surveyed for water quality indicators
(see tables in field manual — appendix L).

The second site on the Flint River was visited on Wednesday of week
four. The site was a section of river in a park in the heart of the Flint city limits.
The teams conducted the same tests and assessments as done at Metamora.

The students also spent a good deal of time pulling trash and waste out of the

30

river which included a stereo, a tire, a real estate sign, shoes, a steering wheel,
etc. Back in the classroom, the students shared data from the river and
compared the findings to the findings from Metamora.

The rest of the week was spent on discussion and review of the material
we had covered over the past four weeks, impressions from the two field trips
and a round-robin discussion on what the students felt should and could be done
to help the river. As we went around the room, the students were expected to be
able to verbalize what their findings were and what those findings meant. In
addition, the students were expected to be able to explain how human activity
and urbanization had impacted the river, and to be able to explain how we can
change our daily activities/habits to decrease our negative impact on the river in
our city.

The week ended with students working in teams to develop ways to reach
, out to other students and the Flint community. The goal was to educate them
about how they impact the river by their daily activities at home and away from
home. The students from each of the two class sections were given one of three
tasks: make posters to hang around the school regarding what Northern students
could do to make a difference in the river, develop a brochure to be published
and distributed to the schools and various places within the city, and write public
service announcements to be broadcast on the radio. The students were
expected to be able to develop these projects from the knowledge they had

gained, with little formal guidance or input from me until they were done. They

31

were instructed to turn in a rough draft for proofing with all of the pertinent
information included.
WEEK FIVE

At the end of the fifth week, the posters were hung in the school halls, the
brochures were taken to the printer for copying and the public service
announcements were faxed to the radio stations for approval (see appendix N for
PSAs and appendix 0 for brochures). The students were given a post-unit test
over the material from this unit (see appendix M). lmbedded in the test were
questions from the pre-test to determine if they had improved on the scores of
the pre-test as well as expanded their knowledge of all of the material covered.
Finally, students were asked to evaluate the unit, and instructed to again write an
opinion paper on “What Does the Flint River Have To Do With Me?” This opinion
paper, as well as assigned writings in the student journals about what they had
learned served as additional assessments of the knowledge the students had
gained over the course of the unit.

On December 4, 2004, twelve students went to Regency Broadcasting
and recorded six public service announcements to be aired on two of the main
radio stations (WCRZ and WKLB) in Flint and the surrounding area. This
summer, WDZZ will be airing the PSAs, as well. In addition, 4,000 copies of the
students’ brochures were distributed throughout Greater Flint, encouraging

others to take care of the river that they had decided was worth saving.

32

RESULTS

The assessment of student learning, understanding and attitude change
was carried out in a variety of ways. Marshall Sundberg, (2002) writing in Cell
Biology Education suggests that while exams are useful in assigning grades,
other tools might be used to provide a “rich understanding” of Ieaming outcomes.
Thus, assessment was performed by pre- and post-unit testing, we and post-
unit opinion papers, journal writing, and unit-end projects in the form of brochures
and radio-broadcast public service announcements. In this way, the
assessments would be more in the context of the class rather than simply a
means at the end for students to “regurgitate” facts. In addition, it was expected
that in doing these types of assessments, the students would Ieam from them
while taking part in the evaluation.

The post-test was an expanded version of the pre-test, with the pre-test
questions comprising 60% of the questions. The students demonstrated an
overall average improvement in test scores of 43% in the pre-test vs. post-test.
Average score on the pre—test was 44% with the average score on the post-test
(pre-test items only) was 87%. The high test-item improvement was 82% while
the low test-item improvement was 7%. (see Appendix Q for table of scores)
Paired t-test for the reliability of the pre- and post-test data was applied to the
fifteen test items on forty-four tests. In twelve of the fifteen test items, the null
hypothesis was rejected with a probability of less than 0.05 (see Appendix Q for
t-test results table) indicating that there was a significant difference in the pre-and

post-unit test scores. The questions that showed the greatest difference

33

between pre— and post-test scores pertained to watersheds, storm water, the

source of our local water supply and where runoff goes from our yards and

streets. This reflected knowledge gained in areas where the students had little

pre—existing knowledge. Areas that showed the least improvement were those

with relatively high pre-test scores. Two were questions regarding pollution in

general and groundwater which the students had little problem answering. This

indicated that there was existing knowledge regarding those two areas. Test

item scores for the pre- and post-unit tests are presented in graph form in figure

 

 

Pre- and Post-Test Results

 

 

 

 

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Pre-Test
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Figure 2. Pre- and post-unit test item scores by students in Specialty Biology

1 8. 2 classes.

34

The questions on the pre- and post-tests were not multiple-choice.
Instead, open—ended questions were asked to ascertain previous knowledge the
students brought to this unit. Because of the subjective nature of short essay
answers, excerpts from both the pre- and post-tests are given below to illustrate
what was considered both unacceptable (pre—test) and acceptable (post-test)
answers to the questions. When a pre-test answer is given, the post-test answer
that accompanies it is a quote from the same student.

QUESTION: How does it (river pollution) become pollution?

Pre-test. “Because once this happens, it’s no longer good of

use.” (unacceptable)

Post-test: “It’s pollution when it’s not supposed to be there.
It’s pollution when ever it changes or effects the
the way organisms live with things that aren’t
supposed to be there.” (acceptable)

Pre-test: “When it affects the given area it is classified as
pollution. ” (unacceptable - too vague)

Post-test: “It becomes pollution when it hits the water and
things start taking a turn for the worst. For example,
putting down lawn fertilizer isn’t bad, but when it
goes down that drain it turns into pollution in the
river.” (acceptable)

QUESTION: Where does the water go that flows into your street
drains?

Pre-test: “It flows to either an ocean or lake, or goes to a
plant. ” (unacceptable)
Post-test: “The Flint River.” (acceptable)

Pre-test: “Somewhere to be cleaned so it will be able
to drink. ” (unacceptable)
Post-test: “It goes straight into the Flint River.” (acceptable)

35

Pre-test: “In the storward (storage) under ground.”
(unacceptable)
Post-test: “To Flint River.” (acceptable)

QUESTION: Where does your drinking water come from?

Pre-test: No answer— left blank (unacceptable)

Post-test: “Lake Huron. The Flint River flows into the
Shiawassee River that goes to the Saginaw
Bay that eventually pours into Lake Huron.”
(acceptable)

Pre-test: “My drinking water comes from the treatment
plant in Detroit which comes from their water
sources.” (unacceptable)

Post-test: “My drinking water comes the flow of water from the
Flint River to the Shiawassee which then connects
to the Saginaw. The Saginaw then flows to the
Saginaw Bay where it’s canied out into Lake Huron.
From there the water’s treated and sent to Flint and
to my home.” (acceptable)

In addition to the pre- and post-unit tests, written assignments and journal
entries were utilized to establish the knowledge, as well as opinions, with which
the students were approaching this unit. The students were asked the open-
ended question, ‘What does the Flint River have to do with me?” Journal
answers varied, but the majority (77%) of the students indicated that they felt the
river has nothing to do with them, 18% stated they were unsure and 5% could
state how they might affect the river or how it affects them. After the unit was
completed, the students were asked once again, “What does the Flint River have

to do with me?” Examples of some of the entries before and after the completion

of the unit are presented as follows:

36

STUDENT A:

Pre-unit: “The Flint River has nothing to do with me because it’s so
polluted that it’s not even healthy to go near it...l wouldn’t want anything
like that to have to do with me.”

Post-unit “Well, before we did the river water tests, I felt that the Flint
River had nothing to do with me. Now I think that the Flint River has
everything to do with me and that I may actually be able to help stop
polluting the river...l could tell other people about what’s going on.”

STUDENT B:
Pre-unit. “I believe the Flint River has nothing to do with

me. I say this because I don’t use the water and I don’t eat or drink from
it.

Post-Unit. “I now know that the Flint River does have something to do
with me. I’ve Ieamed that the Flint River drains into Lake Huron which is
the main source of our drinking water. I also learned that we are the
reason our river is the way it is and the little things we do (that can be
prevented) are polluting the river. This came as a shock to me. An even
bigger shock was Ieaming that the only water that goes to the water
treatment plant is the water that comes directly from your house. I
thought and probably would have thought all the water went to the water
treatment plant!”

STUDENT C:
Pre-unit. “I really have no ideal (sic) what the Flint River

has to do with me. It might be a part of my water system. But I don’t
think so.”

Post-unit: “The Flint River has everything to do with me. It is a source
of water for me. I can control what goes into it like what makes it more
polluted...l found out the Flint River doesn’t affect us as much as we
affect it....we are destroying the Flint River.”

STUDENT D:
Pre-unit. “Personally I do not feel the Flint River has much to do with
me ..... it doesn’t really affect me drastically.”

Post-unit. “In this unit we basically study (sic) all the things included and
that affects our watershed. l Ieamed an awful lot! I had no idea that me,
such a small person to this world, had such a tremendous affect on the
Flint River. Neither did I know that the Flint River ends up being in our
drinking water. Now I can say the Flint River has a lot to do with me and
in return I have a lot to do with it. I affect the river’s quality. I determine
how it looks and smells. l alter my drinking water. I do this by every thing I

37

put on the ground, including litter, pet waste, fertilizers and patches of dirt.
I play a big role in my environment 8 so do you.”

STUDENT E:
[iii-M “I wouldn’t want to drink it and if I already do, I’m off fountain
water foreverl”

Post-unit: “I have found out over the course of this marking period that
because we pollute the river, it is the way it is. I have done just about
everything wrong, and for years people just like me have been doing the
same thing. The pollution just reflects poorly on us. The pollution we put
in the river is the same thing in our drinking water and water we shower in.
I have found that the river has everything to do with me.”

STUDENT F:
M “The Flint River pollutes the air around me. The Flint River
could be a source of water but isn’t because it is not clean.”

Post-unit: “Throughout this unit we have Ieamed a lot about the Flint river.
The Flint River is very important to people around it. Run-off makes the
river dirty and we can prevent this!! The Flint River has a lot to do with me
since the Flint River is part of my water supply. Run-off goes to the Flint
River, I drink this water. Now I must try to keep it clean.”

STUDENT G:
Pre-unit. “The Flint River has not much to do with me. I don’t use it as my
water source and that isn’t where I get my food. I really don’t think a lot

about it. The water is nasty anyway so I really don’t want anything to do
with the Flint River.”

 

Post-unit. “This unit was great. I learned so much more about how our
water system works and the watershed. I understand how important the
river is to me. I see that I need to be careful with what I do, and that the
littlest thing you do can affect our watershed in a big way. I think that
from this unit I can tell other people how important the Flint River is in our
daily lives. The Flint River is a beautiful area that we need to be proud of
and start taking care of it more and more."

The change in the students’ opinions after they had visited and compared

the two river sites was clear. Numerous classroom discussions that were held

38

over the course of the unit also reflected a tum-around in the students’
understanding of the material as well as their attitudes and opinions.

Journals were also kept by students in order to track their learning as well
as their attitudes/opinions regarding the river and the causes of its pollution.

The journal entries by the students after the field trips- to the two river sites
indicate that the difference was as apparent to them as I hoped it would be.
Below are journal entries from three students from both field trips:

STUDENT A:

Metamora: “Today we went to Metamora to test the water in the Flint
River. I was very surprised when I got out there. The water was so clean
and nice. I was expecting a very dirty and disgusting river. I think this
was a great experience and I learned so many new things.”

Kearsley Park (in Firm: “Oh my. My biology class went to Kearsley Park
today. We again tested the water of the Flint River and there was quite a
difference in the results. The water was so gross. The water was slimy
and very smelly. We found many critters that “like” polluted water.”

STUDENT B:

Metamora: “At Metamora Township the river was flooded with nature.
From the results of my dissolved oxygen test, I found that the area of the
river could be flooded with living organisms. Not to mention the fact that
the water temperature was cold locks in more oxygen. The smell of the
river was refreshing, especially since the section of the river I’m close to in
town smells like sewage. It just showed that nature takes care of itself
and humans only disrupt this cycle when we interfere.”

Kearsley Park. “The river was filthy; it made no sense at all. Stop signs, a
stereo system and all kinds of cans and litter were pulled from under the
surface. I hated to even step in with waders on. My dissolved oxygen
test was much lower than Metamora’s water!”

STUDENT C:
Metamora: “It was easy to see the distinction between leaving the city and
coming to the country. It was breathtaking. The water looked as crystal

39

as holy water. It was a drastic difference between this part of the river and
the river back home.”

Kearsley Park. “Today we went to Kearsley Park to test the water there.
Instantly there was a drastic difference. The stream had litter on its banks.
It was along side a paved road. The stream last week looked natural,
something out of a portrait. It looked pure, it looked healthy. This week’s
stream wasn’t so clean; you could see that from the manufactured goods
floafinginit”

In addition to the journal entries from the field trips, entries were made in
regard to other activities that were conducted in class. The entries reflect
Ieaming and understanding and three examples are shown here:
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE LAB:

STUDENT A: “l Ieamed that just in the small amount of area there is SO
much soil that is covered up and so much concrete prevents the water
from absorbing.”

STUDENT B: “It was a big surprise to me to find out how much water
runs off our campus. Thinking of all the stuff it took with it makes me sick,
too.”

STUDENT C: “Today we calculated in class how many gallons of run-off
runs off from Northern. I was amazed to see the huge numbers because
that’s only the numbers from Northern, not all of Flint. I can just imagine
how much run-off goes into the Flint River. When we first started this
project I kind of brushed it off because I didn’t realize what was going on
with the Flint River. Now I have a better understanding.”

STREET SEWER VS. GRASS MODEL: IMPERVIOUS SURFACE RUNOFF

STUDENT A: The street and grass representation of rainwater was
awesome. Doing the concrete vs. grass model made me realize how
pavement affects everything.

STUDENT B: Today we had a “live” demonstration of run-off. It was the
difference between rain soaking into the ground and becoming
groundwater and rain hitting pavement and just running off quickly and a
lot. It was a good demonstration that will help me remember about it in
the future.

40

HANDOUTS

STUDENT A: “When I read through the handouts I learned quite a few
things about what not to do. I understand now stormwater runoff is what
runs off of streets, lawns, any surface. I also see that even the littlest
polluting you do can turn into a huge problem. I learned a lot about what
to do and what not to do.” ‘

STUDENT B: “After reading the handouts, l have found out some
surprising things. For example, the rainbows that you see in the puddles
after it rains in your driveway or the street or parking lots are signs of
leaking fluids from someone’s car. These puddles may seem harmless,
but if these materials get into the groundwater, runoff or stormwater, it can
contaminate the river.”

STUDENT C: “I realized out of all the pamphlets and brochures, it highly

emphasizes runoff and pollution. I can tell human activity the main cause

for aquatic pollution. I’m glad I got to read this information. I never
thought about how everything we do to our Earth is affecting something
else. I really think we should aware the community. I’m positive there’s
someone else who is just like me, uneducated about water pollution.”

At the end of the unit the students were anxious to share their new
knowledge, and the final evaluation of what they had Ieamed was the application
of that knowledge as a teaching tool.

The students, in groups, were given the task of putting the new knowledge
they had gained into a brochure, a public service announcement or several
posters. They were instructed to share the information that had the most impact
on them, prepare the brochures, posters or announcements and turn them in
completed and ready to publish. The information that the students included in
those projects reflected a level of understanding and knowledge that the students

did not exhibit before they took part in this unit (see Appendix 0 for copies of the

two brochures and Appendix N for the text of the public service announcements).

41

At the end of the unit, an anonymous survey/evaluation was given to the
students to ascertain whether the unit had made an impact on the students, and
to find if the students considered the unit to be helpful in their Ieaming. The
results of the survey indicate that the majority of the students found the unit and
what they Ieamed to be of value.

Table 2 below lists several of the survey questions with results:

 

 

 

SURVEY % % %
QUESTION Yes No Maybe
Did you learn things about the Flint River 98%
that you never knew? 2%
Can you name three thingsthat you 98% 2%

Ieamed during this study? (List themL
Did your opinion of the river change

 

 

 

 

during this studL? 88% 12%

Do you think that humans have an impact

on the river? 100% 0%

Do you think we could make a difference

in the quality of the river? 94% 4% 2%
Do you think your new knowledge will

make a difference in how you do things? 65% 9% 26%

 

Do you feel that any of the activities in
(this unit) helped you learn the material? 86% 14%
Do you find the knowledge that you
gained to be personally valuable? 96% 4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 2. Results of Post-Unit Student Survey/Evaluation

Although apathy still existed in a small percentage of the students and
some did not invest themselves in the study, both the objective data and the
subjective observations/evaluations demonstrate that the river unit was effective

in facilitating the students’ learning as well as changing attitudes and opinions.

42

DISCUSSION

Teaching in an inner-city high school can be an extremely challenging
experience; Flint Northern High School is no exception. A small budget,
outdated textbooks, large classes, lack of parent involvement, lack of experience
and a high rate of students who are reading at a level far below their grade
leaves one having to rely on imagination and resourcefulness to find meaningful
ways to engage and teach the students. This unit was developed to provide the
students with an experience that most of them have never had, while presenting
the material that must be taught. It has been my experience during, my 7-year
tenure at Northern that if the students are fully engaged, given an opportunity to
experience something new, and are invested in the project, the learning curve
rises. In the past, this has been solely based on instinct and observation.
However, the river study unit was an intentional attempt to provide all of those
things to students who have received very little in the way of instruction that isn’t
just bookwork and a paper trail. All but three of my students had never been in a
river before, and only two of the fifty eight students had seen a “clean” river, so I
hoped that the stark differences in the two sites of the river would have the
desired impact on the students. I was not disappointed.

After developing the unit at MSU during the summer of 2004, my next big
challenge was to obtain the supplies that I would need to carry out this study. I
needed at least a dozen pair of waders, nets for collecting macroinvertebrates,
water testing equipment, measuring tapes, supplies to assemble field guides,

and copies of the field guide. Weeks were spent scouring the community for

43

donations, with great results. Seven pairs of waders were donated from local
stores, and Central Michigan University’s GEAR-UP Program provided five more
pairs. A local hardware store provided a measuring wheel, a local printer
provided 25 sets of copies of the field guide, an office supply store donated
three-ring binders and sheet protectors for the field guides and the Department of
Environmental Science at UM-F lint provided dip nets, collection jars, and three
more pair of waders to borrow. In addition, two undergraduate students from the
Environmental Honor Society at UM-Flint agreed to assist during the field trips.

The Magnet Program typically guarantees the student a smaller than
usual class for more individualized attention, as well as the opportunity to take
part in the type of activities that a larger class would prohibit. This unit was
designed with that in mind. However, at the beginning of the year, my Magnet
Biology classes had 58 students between the two sections. This presented one
of my biggest challenges, as there should only have been around 30 students
total (including both sections) in the classroom and on the field trips. The large
classes yielded larger lab groups than is optimal. As a result, the labs seemed a
little less organized than I would have liked, and left some of the students with
the opportunity to get distracted while others were genuinely involved with the
testing procedures. Although I am used to making adjustments for this type of
situation, it isn’t often necessary in a Magnet class of more focused students
doing somewhat complicated labs.

Certainly working with smaller groups on the field trips would have been

less hectic, as well. Due to the large number of students, it seemed that l was

44

spread a little thin at the river and didn’t have as much opportunity as I felt
necessary to monitor the students while they were conducting the tests. It did
help, however, having the two UM students along to help guide the students
through the tests, as they had conducted them in their own studies.

Additionally, because of the size of these Magnet Biology classes,
administration opted to open another section of Magnet Biology and put some of
the students from each of my two sections into the third section three weeks into
the study. The students had already started the study with me, had been pre-
tested, had done some of the labs, and were counting on going to the river. It
was agreed that they would participate in the rest of the labs and the field trips,
but the transition to the other class would be started prior to the river visits. After
the field trips to the river, the students were immediately transferred to the other
teacher, who agreed to administer the post-test to those students. The post-test
was given and returned to me for grading. The end of the unit felt somewhat
disjointed to me, with the students who had moved still taking part in the radio
broadcasts but not actually being in my classroom during that time. However,
under the circumstances, I felt it went well overall.

At the beginning of the unit, the students seemed bored and disinterested.
The average grade on the watershed assessment packet was lower than I had
expected. However, the scores were in keeping with my belief that lecture simply
isn’t enough for students to “internalize” science concepts. Surprisingly, the
street-drain model seemed to pique their interest more than anything else in the

beginning. They made comments in their journals and showed excitement during

45

the demonstration. I had hoped it would be successful, but was pleasantly
surprised that it had such an impact. They also enjoyed the speaker that came
from the MSU Cooperative Extension and started showing an even greater
interest during his visit. The Measuring Impervious Surfaces Lab went well,
although the students did a lot of complaining about being cold, not having
proper shoes to walk around campus, etc. After calculating the amount of runoff,
the students were shocked that so much water would drain from our campus into
the river. It sparked the beginning of a genuine discussion among the students
about how much harmful material can be carried by so much water, as well as
what types of things might be carried. I explained again how each of those
things might impact the river, and it was then that the students began to show a
true understanding of what I had been talking about. From that point, I saw a
drastic increase in the level of interest shown by the majority of the students.
Several of the parents that I spoke with related to me that their children were
talking about our project at home...a good sign.

One of the indicators of interest among high school students is when you
can draw them into a true discussion about a topic. It is not very often that one
can engage the students in conversation/discussion about a topic that you are
trying to teach them. This wasn’t the case after the students realized that what
we were talking about applied to them, to their activity and to their drinking water.
We had a good level of discussion about some aspect of this study daily, with the
students demonstrating an increased knowledge and understanding of the issue

of river pollution due to human activity. Although this is not something that can

46

be measured quantitatively, it was apparent in their discussion that the material
was taking hold.

Although I will definitely be adding this unit to my curriculum, there were
some difficulties that I believe could be alleviated by making a few changes. The
unit was run in the fall due to time constraints of data collection and the
completion of this thesis. However, in an ordinary school year, I would teach this
unit in the spring for several reasons. Because we needed to get to the river
before the weather got too cold, the general ecology material wasn’t covered to
my satisfaction prior to the unit. I believe if it had been, the interdependency of
organisms-would have been better established in the students’ minds. Further, I
would dedicate at least two more days to the preparation for the field trip, having
the students repeat the tests until they were truly competent at running them and
could explain them to me. We ran into a couple of problems with the tests. The
E. coli group used the wrong test kit and misplaced the instructions for reading
the results; it had to be repeated using a different test kit. Upon returning to the
classroom, the student responsible for the E. coli test dropped the tubes in the
classroom and broke them before we had a chance to read the results. We
encountered problems with our conductivity monitor so the test was not
conducted. The dissolved oxygen group had difficulty at Metamora, as well, so
stopped working and had to conduct the test again while the others waited on the
bus to leave. Although our data clearly showed that the river was healthier at
Metamora, I believe it would have gone smoother with a little more classroom

time dedicated to preparation and practice and with smaller groups. Overall the

47

field trip went amazingly well. The majority of students were extremely
enthusiastic, and the trip to the second site indicated that they had learned from
the practice at Metamora.

The students were greatly impacted by the beauty and condition of the
river at Metamora, and this gave rise to a meaningful classroom discussion
among the students regarding what should be done by citizens in our town to try
to return the river to the state of the site we just visited.

After seeing the river at Metamora, the river at Kearsley Park had the
exact effect that I had anticipated. The students were upset about the trash that
they pulled from the river, the smell of the river, and the “scum” that was found on
all of the macroinvertebrates that we pulled from the river. It was the natural flow
due to the frame of mind in the classroom to make comparisons between the two
sites without my having to lead the discussion in that direction; they were
emphatic about how human activity had affected the river and about what
needed to be done. That WAS the lesson! The students had made the discovery
for themselves and it was the EUREKA moment.

When the time came for the students to share their new knowledge (as the
“service" part of the service learning), they were enthusiastic about doing so. It
was important that they be able to pull their new knowledge together and express
it in a coherent and meaningful way. As mentioned in the implementation section
of this paper, some of the students were on a team to develop a brochure for
distribution to the public, some made posters to display around the school and

the rest were on writing teams to develop public service announcements for radio

48

broadcast. I had already contacted several radio stations in the area who had
agreed to review the PSAs once they were written.

The only direction that was given to the students regarding the assigned
projects was to put into their work what they had learned that they wanted others
to know. The projects were to be brought to me “ready to go”. As the students
worked on their projects, they would consult with me regarding questions or
conflicts that they were having, but I allowed them to demonstrate what they had
learned without interjecting much. I was extremely pleased to find that they were
able to express themselves succinctly, indicating to me that there was an
understanding of the material they had just studied.

Per instruction from the radio stations, the PSAs had to be limited to thirty
seconds each, so the students had to struggle to be able to include the
information that they wanted to share in such a small time frame. It was a good
exercise in decision making about what they considered the most important.

All of the projects were a great experience in teamwork and cooperative
Ieaming. Just as working on the river water quality tests together taught them to
cooperate in teams, sharing what they had learned in the environment of a whole
new team was a learning experience in cooperation, as well. Finally, when it was
time to go to the radio station, teams had to be formed once more. It was
decided, by the students, who would actually read the announcements, who
would be on the teams for each announcement (most required two or three
voices) and when a couple of people were unable to make it, how they were

going to compensate and regroup.

49

At the radio station, the students were interviewed on the air and briefly
discussed what they had done at the river. They were well-spoken and
knowledgeable, and it was obvious that they were very proud of the new
knowledge they had gained.

A significant goal of this unit was to inspire the students to become
involved in river projects or at least develop an awareness and sensitivity to
these issues. It is my desire that there will be a far-reaching impact by helping
the students become informed and responsible voters and stewards of the Flint
River or the rivers where they live in the future, as well as practicing responsible
habits in their daily lives that will have a positive impact on the river. While it is
acknowledged that this is not something I will be able to measure or assess, it is
a goal, nevertheless.

As a result of an invitation by the MSU speaker that came to our class,
one of my students took part in the hazardous waste collection that took place in
Flint last October, and three of my students accompanied me on a water-testing
venture at the home of a gentleman who lives on Kearsley Creek (a tributary of
the Flint River) who was interested in the study that the students had undertaken.
On the way home, we passed the river that flows through the old Buick City
factory. One of the students commented that now every time he sees water, he
wants to test it. This same student, who had chosen to pursue a career in
Engineering, has decided to pursue Environmental Engineering as a result of
what he experienced and learned during our study. In the spring he asked me to

take him back out to another part of the river to do more water quality testing,

50

which I agreed to do. In addition, two of my students assisted me in conducting
a river-testing workshop for Genesee County students enrolled in a summer
science program at the U of M-Flint.

Test scores before and after the unit clearly showed that combining
the constructivist theory with inquiry and service-Ieaming can improve both
learning as well as understanding of the concept of ecology as applied to solving
a real problem in a local environment. While I am pleased with the results of
the pre- vs. post-unit tests, in retrospect I think I would have made the test more
specific and more inclusive. Although fifteen questions seemed sufficient, I
would like to have shown more about the students’ gain in knowledge with
regards to the specific tests, etc. I know from working with the students that they
knew next to nothing coming into the unit, but I would like to have been able to
document the gains that they made. The paired t-test revealed that there was
confirmed significance in the difference between the pre- and post-unit test
scores on twelve of the fifteen questions. Question one (what is pollution?) didn’t
show a significant difference but had a high pre-test score (91%), not leaving a
lot of room for improvement. Question ten only showed a 14% (70% -) 84%)
improvement in correct answers. The question asked “What is groundwater?"
and that was a concept that some of the students still had a problem grasping,
even though the speaker brought a very nice groundwater model and
demonstrated it for the students. My intention is to try to discover a better way to

get this across to the students, but as of now I have been unable to think of

51

anything that is better than a model that demonstrates the concept for the
students.

Question thirteen regarding household waste water only reflected a 13%
(39% 9 52%) improvement. This question asked “What happens to the water
that you pour into your sink?” and although a majority of the students could tell
me that it goes to the water treatment plant, nearly half could not answer
correctly. Many of them had switched to thinking that it, too, went directly to the
river. The next time this unit is covered, I will need to make sure that the
students are clear about household vs. storm sewer drainage. I am fairly certain
that a trip to the wastewater treatment plant by our school would help the
students to clarify this issue. I had considered taking them there as part of this
unit but didn’t feel that I had the time or resources to do it. I will try to make it
happen with the next class.

The results of the survey (Appendix P) were helpful in showing some of
the weaknesses of the unit with the inquiry about what the students liked the
most about the unit, liked the least about the unit, and what suggestions they had
for the next time I conduct this unit. The biggest. complaint the students had was
that they needed more practice with the tests, critter collection needed to be
more thorough, the groups were too big and the weather was too cold. These
suggestions were in keeping with the weaknesses that I, too, had identified and
will correct before the unit is undertaken next spring. In addition, I didn’t have the

opportunity to become acquainted with the students so early in the school year.

52

If the unit is undertaken in the spring, I will know each student better and will be
better able to determine who would be best suited for each team.

I believe that this unit had an impact on most of the students in my class.
The students with whom I work just don’t come to me with any experience or
interest in environmental issues, and this class was no exception. They started
the unit apathetic and disinterested, but many became enthusiastic and involved
as the unit progressed. Most importantly, it is clear that this approach for
teaching ecology proved to be effective and increased the rate of student
success in Ieaming the material as well as changing the apathy of many of the

students.

53

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56

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57

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58

APPENDICES A — R

59

APPENDIX A

STATE OF MICHIGAN
CONTENT STANDARDS AND BENCHMARKS
SATISFIED BY UNIT

60

MICHIGAN CONTENT STANDARDS AND BENCHMARKS SATISFIED BY
THIS UNIT OF STUDY

Content Standard I

0 Construct new scientific and personal knowledge and reconstruct
previously learned knowledge

- Reflect on the nature, adequacy and connections across scientific
knowledge

. Show how common themes apply in a real-world context
Communicate their findings

Content Standard ll

. Describe how human activities affect the quality of water in the
hydrosphere

Benchmarks:

I. 1.H.1 Ask questions that can be investigated empirically

I. 1.H.4 Gather & synthesize information from books and other sources
I. 1.H.2 Conduct scientific investigations

I. 1H. 7 Identify and use safe procedures in science activities

ECOLOGY

II.1.H.6

. Develop an awareness of and sensitivity to the natural world
III.5.H.1
. Identify abiotic factors that impact the river; predict and analyze
how changing factors affect the ecosystem of the river
III.5.H.3
. Predict how specific changes with the environment may
increase/decrease a population’s size
0 Analyze how specific human activities may affect population
srzes.
- Identify the environmental (biotic or abiotic) factors that may
affect the carrying capacity of a population.
III.5.H.4
0 Explain the relationship between the stability of an ecosystem
and its biodiversity (organisms adapt, migrate or die)
Ill. 5. H6
. Identify the specific impacts of manufacturing, recreation and
human activities on urban rivers.
. Discuss how natural resources can be protected and at the
same time used.

61

APPENDIX B

PARENT CONSENT FORM

62

The Effects of Urbanization and Human Activity on the Flint River:
A Comparative Study
(Parent/Student Consent Form)

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students:

For the past three summers I have been working on my Master’s Degree at Michigan
State University. This past summer I developed an ecology unit that I believe will be an exciting
and interesting way for the students to Ieam ecology, based on our own Flint River. As a
requirement for my Master’s Degree, I will be utilizing this unit at Northern as part of the Specialty
Biology Class (1 SE & 28E). Another requirement will be for me to collect/analyze data to
determine the effectiveness of this unit in improving the students’ learning and motivation and
report the results in my thesis.

I will be collecting this data from pre- and post-tests, lab questions, projects,
reflection/opinion papers and a final project put together by the students. As part of the unit, I will
be taking the students to two river sites where we will conduct habitat assessment, water quality
testing and specimen collection/identification. I will be taking pictures of the students working, as
well. It is the goal of this unit to teach the students about the effects of urbanization and human
activity on the Flint River and to explore the possible ways that we, as individuals, can make a
difference in the health of the river. The unit will be part of the normal ecology unit that starts in
September and the time that the students will be involved in the study will be 4-5 weeks (the
approximate duration of the study). They will be participating during normal class hours with the
inclusion of two field trips which will involve most of the school day.

With your permission, I would like to use your student’s data and/or photograph in my
Master’s thesis. At no time will the student’s name be used in my thesis; identity of the
student will remain confidential. Your privacy will be protected to the maximum extent
allowable by law. The required work for the course will be the same for all students whether the
data related to this work is used in my thesis or not. However, permission for the use of your
student's class work is voluntary, and there will be no penalty for not giving your consent. Should
you decide to give your consent, you do have the right to disengage your child from this study at
any time without penalty.

If you have any questions about this study, please be certain to contact me at any time at
Northern High School (810 )760-1740 (or by e-mail at biogeek53@aol.com. If you have
questions or concern about your rights as a study participant, you may contact Peter Vasilenko,
PhD, Chair of the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS) at
(517) 432-4503, by e-mail at ucrihs@msu.edu , or by mail at 202 Olds Hall, East Lansing, MI
48824.

Please sign and return the attached permission form by Monday, September 13, 2004.
Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Debra Bassett
Biology Teacher
Flint Northern High School

63

STUDENT

I voluntarily agree to participate in this study and have my data and photograph used
as part of this thesis. My name will remain confidential and will not appear anywhere in
the thesis.

 

Print name

 

 

Student Signature Date

I voluntarily agree to participate in this study and have my data only used as part of this
thesis. My name will remain confidential and will not appear anywhere in the thesis.

 

Print name

 

 

Student Signature Date

PARENT/GUARDIAN

I voluntarily agree to have my child participate in this study and have his/her data and
photograph used as part of this thesis. The student’s name will remain confidential and
will not appear in any way in this thesis.

 

Parent/Guardian Signature Date

I voluntarily agree to have my child participate in this study and have his/her data
only used as part of this thesis. The student’s name will remain confidential and
will not appear in any way in this thesis.

 

Parent/Guardian Signature Date

APPENDIX C

PRE-UNIT TEST

65

Test Your Water Knowledgell

Please remember that this is a Lo_ol for you and me to use to learn how much knowledge you have
about water and the river. The answers that you put down should come from your own pre-
existing knowledge. You won’t be penalized for what you don’t know. Rather, it will help us to
know where we need to go with our study! You will receive a grade based on the completion
of this test.

1. Describe pollution and use examples.

 

 

 

2. Where does river pollution come from?

 

 

 

3. How does it become pollution?

 

 

 

 

 

4. Name a polluted site:

 

5. What affect does pollution have?

 

 

 

 

 

6. Does it affect you? How?

 

 

 

 

 

7. Do you pollute? How?

 

 

 

8. What is a watershed?

 

 

 

9. Is there one near you?
10. What is groundwater?

 

 

 

11. What is stormwater?

 

 

12. Where does the water go that flows into your street drains?

 

13. What happens to the water that you pour into your sink?

 

14. What happens to the water that you wash your car with outside?

 

15. Where does your drinking water come from?

 

66

APPENDIX D

JOURNAL RUBRIC

67

KEEPING A JOURNAL

We often see, feel or experience things that we are certain we will never forget.
However, as time goes by, the recollection of those things changes a little or

fades away.

The human memory is not like a photograph...it has a tendency to

change over time. Because this is so, I will ask you to keep a written journal in
which you will reflect your thoughts, responses and impressions as we journey
through this ecology unit together. You will also be keeping a written record of
any labs that we do.

LABORATORY REPORTS

Laboratory reports in your journal will have the following requirements:

1. Lab reports should be in the back section of yourjoumal.

2. Actual lab information should be written in ink on the right-hand page
ONLY.

3. If you make a mistake, do not erasell Simply draw a single line through
the error and rewrite the correct information.

4. Notes to yourself, calculations, etc. may go on the left-hand page. This
could include unexpected things that you saw, problems that you
experienced during a lab, equations that you used that you will need to
remember, etc.

5. Reports should include the following:

Pure as» 91.0 .6.”

Name of lab

Date performed and location

Lab partner’s names

Purpose of lab - what are we trying to discover?
Hypothesis

Materials used

Procedure

Results

What did you learn?

FIELD ENTRIES

If you are in the field, you should record

sweeps

Date

Location

Weather conditions

Team that you were on

What test you did and the results

Other significant observations that you made while out

68

OTHER GOOD STUFF

Your journal should include other things besides data and observations! Also
record your personal experiences during this unit; what did you like and what
didn’t you like? Did you discover anything that you thought was exciting? Did
your feelings or attitudes change about anything? Did you do anything you never
thought you could? Did you learn anything about yourself through this? As you
go through this unit and do class projects and field work, make notes and entries
DAILY regarding what happened that day. You will be surprised when you go
back to read it just how much you experiencedll

Journals will be collected at the end and will be part of your grade.
They will be scored according to the following rubric:

Journal has consistent entries

 

Joumaling was done on Joumaling was done on Joumaling is inconsistent;
a daily basis or every a weekly basis. Includes most labs missing; information
other day and include most projects, labs and from labs and field trips missing;
all projects, labs & field field trips as well as some no personal impressions entered
trips and many impressions personal impressions
5 3 1 x 10 =

Joumaling was done following requirements as described above

 

Journal has been done Journal has been done Journal was not done
according to requirements following most of the following requirements
as described above requirements as as described above
described above
5 3 1 x 5 =

Journal is neatly done and readable

 

Journal is neat, in order, Journal is fairly neat, Journal is messy, not
and easy to read. somewhat in order in order, and is
and fairly easy to read . difficult to read
5 3 1 x 5 =

Total points possible = 100

69

APPENDIX E

UNDERSTANDING WATERSHEDS
WORKSHEET ACTIVITY

7O

UNDERSTANDING WATERSHEDS
What Is A Watershed?

A watershed is an area of land that drains water from precipitation and
underground springs to a body of water such as a stream, river, pond or lake. The land
is typically higher than the water that it drains into and can be mountains, forests, fields,
or cities. Watersheds can be very large (covering several counties) or relatively small.
But all land, no matter where it is located, is part of some watershed.

If you think about land at a higher elevation, you can imagine that water will run
off to a lower level. This is exactly what happens in a watershed. The original site
where the water flow begins is called the headwaters of the river. Water flow typically
begins in smaller creeks and streams called tributaries that flow into a larger stream that
joins with other streams to make an even larger stream, and so on. Many tributaries,
then, join together to eventually form a large river that will eventually flow into a large
lake or the ocean. Our watershed is the Flint River Watershed...in other words, all of the
creeks and small streams in our watershed eventually flow into the Flint River. The
smallest streams in the watershed (at the beginning) are called first-order streams. Two
or more first order streams join together to create a larger second-order stream, two
second order streams join to form a third-order stream, and so on. But it isn’t just the
creeks and streams that run into the river. Any water flowing over the land will
potentially end up in the Flint River, either as runoff or through the ground as
groundwater. (See fig. 1)

 

 

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(Used with permission, Hoosier Riverwatch)

71

Referring to figure one, follow the directions below:

0 The source of the river is where is begins. Find the sources of the river and put an ‘S’ by
each site.

Find the 8 first-order tributaries and mark them in red
Find where they join to form 4 second-order tributaries and mark them in green

The boundary of a watershed is called the watershed divide. Locate the divide and mark
it blue.

0 Find where the second-order tributaries join to form 2 third-order tributaries and mark
them in orange

0 Find where the third-order tributaries join to form a fourth-order mainstream and mark it in
yellow

0 Downstream is the direction of flow of a river from its highest point to its mouth (where it
drains into a large body of water). Draw an arrow pointing downstream on your
watershed map.

0 The mouth of the river is where the river flows into a large body of water such as the
Great Lakes or the ocean. Locate the mouth of the river and label it ‘M’

Where does the water end up?

If you give it some thought, it makes sense that the water must go
SOMEWHERE! Have you ever wondered where? The Flint River flows west until it
meets and flows into the Shiawassee River, which turns and flows east into the Saginaw
River. Finally, the Saginaw River drains into Lake Huron at the Saginaw Bay.

Is that the end of the story?

Of course not! Lake Huron is where your drinking water comes from!!! Now
think about whether or not you have ever put anything into the river that you wouldn’t
want to drink???

More than likely you have never walked to the river and dropped something in it.
However, have you ever thrown gum, paper or bottles down on the ground? Have you
ever dumped anything into a street sewer drain? Do you have a pet that uses the
bathroom outside? Do you (or someone in your home) ever put fertilizer on your lawn?
If the answer is yes to any of those questions, chances are you have contributed those
things to the river because rain will wash all of the above into a street sewer. And the
street sewers lead directly to the Flint River!! (See fig. 2)

Water pollution is usually placed in two categories: point source pollution
which is straight out of a sewer/drain pipe and non-point source pollution which is a
result of run-off from the land and it is harder to locate the source. Either way, the water
is a powerful force that picks up whatever is along the way. Unfortunately, this can
include potentially harmful chemicals, trash, animal feces and dirt/debris that all too
quickly become part of the river.

72

Referring to figure 2, name as many sources of pollution as you can and identify them as
point source or non-point source pollution.

 

 

 

 

Identify which sources of pollution in figure 2 would be a result of some kind of human
activity:

 

 

Fig. 2
M‘ r I"... t ‘ .' ‘u ”it..." "2".“ ‘ ‘ o 1 g... o'b . I
' u .. . 0.." . .e 9.. .
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(Used with permission, Hoosier Riverwatch)

73

LET'S REVIEW THE WATER CYCLE

 

UNDERSTANDING THE WATER CYCLE

 

    

M

@ ADVANCING

.......

 

 

Fig. 3 From GeographyCu mculum Activities Curriculum Activities Kit: Ready- to-Use Lessons and Skillsheets for
Grades 5-12 by James F. Silver (2000) by The CenterforApplied Research. Used by permission.

The diagram in figure 3 reviews the water cycle and illustrates how water falls to
Earth and is recycled into the atmosphere, to fall back to Earth once more.
Referring to fig. 3, name the 8 sources of moisture that is being evaporated into the
atmosphere.

 

 

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o What is the process that is taking place at location 3?

 

o What are the forms of precipitation that are falling?
1

 

2.
3.

 

 

74

o What two things are happening to the precipitation that is falling?
1.
2.

 

 

. What are some things that might be carried along with the run-off?
1.
2.
3.
4.
. Where is the run-off going?
1.
2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

0 Using small circles, indicate where the water is stored underground
0 Using diagonal lines, indicate where the rock layer is.

. Where does the ground water appear to be going?

 

. What might be carried along with the ground water?

 

 

In your own words, explain why it pays to be mindful of the things that we put on or in the
ground and explain what effect urbanization might have on the watershed:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

75

APPENDIX F

PASS IT ON CLASSROOM ACTIVITY

76

 

PASS IT ON
(Teacher-directed Activity)

This is a fun activity that will impress upon the students that all parts of the river
are related. At the end of the activity, the students will be able to explain how
human activity in one part of the river can be carried downriver and affect its
health. It is intended to instill in the students the idea that human activity can
indeed impact the quality of a river ecosystem.

Materials

1 piece of plain white art paper for each student

Pencfl

Colored pencils or crayons

An assortment of many items from around the room (your choice)

Procedure

1. Give each student a piece of art paper and make available colored pencils or
crayons.

2. Instruct the students that they have just inherited 100 acres on a local river and
have them illustrate what they would do with the river if they had the choice.

3. After the students have had a chance to decide what they will do, as they are
illustrating their ideas, walk around the room and hand each student one, two or
several items. There doesn’t necessarily have to be a theme to the items, but if
you see a land use that lends itself to certain items you could do so.

4. Based on what land use each student has chosen (without telling the students
what you are doing) have the students come to the front of the room, one by one,
and tell what land use they chose. (If a student has chosen to leave his/her land
“natural”, put that student at the end of the line.

5. When the students have lined up, have the student at the beginning of the line
hand their given items to the student next to them. The second student will then
hand those items, as well as the items received from you, to the third student and
so on. This will continue until the student at the end of the line has accumulated
all items from “up river".

6. Explain to the students that this is what happens when activity upstream pollutes
the river and its effects are carried down river.

7. Have the students discuss what activities are carried on around your local
river that might affect the rest of the river ecosystem.

JOURNAL ENTRY: Explain, in your own words, what you learned from this
activity. Be specific and tell how your own river is affected by human activity.

77

APPENDIX G

THE TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH OF MINAMATA
ARTICLE/QUESTIONS

78

The Tragedy & Triumph of Minamata

A Paradigm fbr Understanding Ecological, Human-Environment
(9‘ Culture— Technology Interactions

Douglas Allchin

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. As mercury destroyed their nerve cells, patients lost sensation and motor control, and their limbs become contorted.
In the 1960: President Shimada of Chisso, with journalists in tow, visited the Minamata Rehabilitation Center to examine the
problem and express sympathies, though officially he denied Chisso’s responsibility. Photo by Aileen M. Smith.

MINAMATA 413

79

of cats ”dancing” in the street—and sometimes
collapsing and dying. Who would have known,

ma modest japanese fishing village in the 19503,
that when friends or family members occasionally
shouted uncontrollably, slurred their speech, or
,dropped their chopsticks at dinner, that one was
witnessing the subtle early symptoms of a debilitating
nervous condition caused by ingesting mercury? Yet
when such scattered, apparently unconnected, and
mildly mysterious events began to haunt the town
of Minamata, Japan, they were the first signs of one
of the most dramatic and emotionally moving cases
of industrial pollution in history.

The outcome was tragic: a whole town was both
literally and figuratively poisoned. The residents of
Minamata learned, all too painfully, how elements
can concentrate in food chains, how humans and
their environment are interconnected in sometimes
unexpected ways, and how biology and culture inter-
act. Yet their story is also one of healing and eventual
triumph, as they have come to embrace the lessons
of their history and share them with others. Even
for those of us more distant, the episode is conceptu-
ally clear and emotionally powerful—a paradigm for
teaching ecology and science-society issues.

The case of Minamata and the mercury poisoning
(originally called Minamata disease) that took place
there appeared briefly in news headlines in the 19709
and then receded from public attention—at least in
the US. The episode was fully and richly documented
by former Life photographer, Eugene Smith, and his
wife, Aileen, who lived in Minamata for several
years; much of what follows draws on their‘ book
(Smith & Smith 1975, see also Smith 1972, Kuriki
1990, lshimure 1990; Mishima et al. 1992). The striking
photos here and on the cover are theirs (along with
others, available on CD-ROM: Smith & Smith 1996).

The Episode '

Minamata is located on the Western coast of
Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost island (see Figure 2).
Its disturbing story begins in the 19309 as the town
was continuing to shed its heritage as a poor fishing

and farming village. In 1932 the Chisso Corporation,
an integral part of the local economy since 1907,

IT STARTED out quite simply, with the strangeness

began to manufacture acetaldehyde, which was used '

to produce plastics. As we know now, mercury from
the production process began to be discharged into
the bay. Though no one knew until decades later,
the heavy metal became incorporated into methyl
mercury chloride: an organic form that, when

 

Alcl'lln ls h the Department of Blologlcal Sclences.
The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso. TX 79968-0619:
e-mall: allchln@ut§p.edu.

 

 

 

 

414 “I! AMCAN BIOLOGY TEACHER, V011“ 61. NO. 6,

ingested, could be incorporated into organisms and
then passed through the food chain. At the time,
Minamata residents relied almost exclusively on fish
and shellfish from the bay as a source of protein.
The threat of pollution seems immediately evident
to many students today. One ought not fail to under-
score the historical context in which neither scientific
experience nor a pervasive environmental awareness
could offer such an explicit warning.

After World War II (around 1952), the production
of acetaldehyde boomed. So, too, did the local econ-
omy—and most residents welcomed their improved
lifestyles. About the same time, fish began to float
in Minamata Bay. Chisso, as it had since 1925, contin-
ued to pay indemnity to local fishermen for possible
damage to their fishing waters. Also at that time,
cats began to exhibit bizarre behaviors that sometimes
resulted in their falling into the sea and dying, in
what residents referred to as ”cat suicides."

In the early 19503, similar behaviors began to
appear—sporadically and without much notice—in
humans. People would stumble while walking, not
be able to write or button their buttons, have trouble
hearing or swallowing, or tremble uncontrollably. In
1956 an apparent epidemic broke out and one can
imagine the confusion—and fear—that was prevalent
becausenoonelmewthecause.Wasitaviral

' inflammation of the brain? Was it syphilis? Was it

hereditary ataxia? Or alcoholism? Was it infectious?
The popular names of "cat’s-dancing disease" and
the. ”strange disease” convey some of both the mys-
tery and its alienating quality.

The physiological effects, including successive loss
of motor control, were devastating, and resulted in
sometimes partly paralyzed and contorted bodies.
Here, the photos of Eugene and Aileen Smith speak
more fully and sensitively than any words one can
imagine: One resident, Tsuginori Hamamoto,
described the plight of his father, a fisherman. Virtu-
ally overnight, Sohachi lost his ability to keep his
balance, or to stay afloat in the water once he had
fallen off the boat He could not put on his sandals,
walk properly, or understand what others were say-
ing to him. His son recalled how Sohachi had once
been hardy and strongly self-willed. Now his condi-
tion degenerated quickly. He was hosptialized on
the fourth day. There, even tied to his bed with
bandages, he ”craze-danced,” said words that were
not words. He saliVated. He convulsed. Later, he
tore athisownskinwithhisfingernailsuntilhis
body bled. "Mother would look at Dad," Tsuginori
recalled, ”and just stand there—tears dropping from
her eyes—looking dazed. Then we realized that the
same symptoms were developing in Mother. ” The
father died within seven weeks, the mother nine
years later.

80

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.0000 960
so a
-

 

Bytheendofl956,epidemiologicalandmedical researdterstracedthediseasetomerwryfromdtisso.

resendrersidentifiedthediseaseasheavy-metalpoi-

aoningcaused'byeatingthefishandshellfish‘of

 

has

mimai(con- dinirdslwdinsize,nowalmost70%ofitspeak

once devas- ~

envrmnmental° education.

of contaminated sludge was dredged
fremthebayatamstofhalfabilliondoilars.Pifty-

Still, more patients emerged. Children-were also eight hectares of land were reclaimed over the main

born-with the “disease." The geographical distribu-

tion of cases widened. In 1963, Public Health Service

tion in the 19608. From '1977 to 1990, 1.5 million

GrissostilloperatesinMinamataand-,mwpro-
meters

duces liquid crystals, preservatives, anti-dessicants,
dumping'site and nowhouse a park, museum, bam-
boo garden, study center, and contemplative memorial
for the victims. In 1997, the bay was declared safe

for compensating the victims and supporting their
limtotheoriginalgroupofpatients;othersaoon.

Hospital. p receivedpaymentbynegotiatingdirectlywithdiisso.
fertilizers,andotherd1emical products.’l‘hecity
throughcommitmentsto

showed that the plant’ a acetaldehyde waste water

‘causedthediseasesymptonm(thoughtheresults

Cmtroversysoonemptedoverwhowasrespomible
2°53”

81

cyclator”

M

the Chisso plant was responsible, however, did not ruled that 'Chisso make payments totalling $3.2 mil-
offered

Minamata Bay. Directevidence timtmereury'from families. It wasnotuntil 1970-thatadistrictcomt

 

emerge until 1959. Dr. Hafimé Hosokawa, in private
tests with cats at the Chisso Company

seemed resolved. Nearly 100 patients had been identi—

~fled,ofwhommorethan20 had died.

solation payments) to the patients, and the matter

were not made public). Chisso installed a

designed to control the emissions,

the Social a Cultural Consequences

ThecaseofMinamataissurelyengagingbecause
the relationship between the causal agent and fire
effect is so unambiguous (at least today). Yet a full
account also includes the more ’ uman” diarension—
those elements that contributed to fiir‘e figurabtirtr:
poisonrng' ' oftheci ,andthatmake ecase
more striking and gore valuable for teadring.

’ For examfle, because the disease was related to
the unexplainable behavior of wildly acting cats, fire
disease became stigmatized, often in fire victim’s own
eyes. In fire Japanese view of medicine, the condition

of fire body reflects how fire individual has main- .

tained his or her balance with fire external world—
and sickness can be viewed as something ”deserved.”
The victims were thus often irrrplicitly "blamed” for
their own condition. Also, wary of contagion, resi-
dents ostracized diseased patients. Neighbor turned
against . One tatarni mat—maker, Yahei lkeda,
disparaged those who had the disease—until one
day he, too, ironically, showed fire symptoms. Neigh—
bors with whom he had earlier sharedhis isolationist
sentiments regarding fire victims now turned those
same feelings against him. _

Fishermen and their families were the earliest and
mod severely afflicted, having consumed the most
contaminated fish. It was also the fishermen who
fully embodied fire traditional Japanese appreciation
ofnatrrre (familiartomanyfirroughclassicalhaiku
poetry and ink painting). Forfire fishermen, the sea
was life-giving. It was hard for fire villagers to
comprehend that the sea could also take life away.

Onefishermanexpressedhisloveoffiresea:

' Wharlthou titans dying

andmy werenumb

audwouldn'tworkgybl when

and Merton gtoo—
ouilylagm turncdagainst us—
.” to theses

gotocry.

onemnunderstand
lions fireacaaq much.
can

has mm are.

Theses

a firebloodafmyoeins.
Indeed, itwasfirepoisoninfirefood from the sea that
alsoflowedinhisblood,generatingfirenumbness-in
his hands and prompting his fears of dying. Here,
not only his food was polluted, but also the funda-
mental view of nature in his culture. .

Themostdisturbingsocialovertones inMinamata
may have involved the employees of Chisso. In the

$33

Ire mm uorocv mores. VOLUME 61. NO. 6. JUNE 1999

l9SOsand608,Chissoemployedabout60%ofthe
town's workforce. Having inherited fire
role of patriarchal lord from feudal Japan. Chisso
Was both provider and protector. The employees
deperrdedonClussoforfireirlivelihoodmdintur-n,

this wifir their loyalty. 80 deep was this
.loydty that Dr. Hosokawa, who had uncovered his
Flimpany’s role in causing Minamata disease, felt he

fwdmtdivulgefireresultsofhisreseardrpublidy

(though he did so later on his deafirbed). Even
today, Grisso enjoys a favorable image among many
residents. When fishermen began to demonstrate
against Chisso for damages, for example, company
employees held counter-demonstrations. To have

admitted Chisso’s "guilt" would have been to

acknowledge that firecorporation had abandoned its

zfilial responsibility and that the relatiomhip could

nolongerbetrustedfllhoughuwmbers'ofdrisso's
Workers’ Union could sympathize with those in
Minamata’s Fishermen’s Union, firere was no question
where fireir loyalty would lie. The whole town of

' Minamata became splintered.» The mercury had pai-

82

soned fire community’s social relations as much as
fire individuals’ physiologies. ' -

‘Causaflonakesponslbnlr‘y

In a narrow, epidemiological sense, Chisso's efflu-
ent was fire ”cause" of fire problems in Minamata
Yet fire casehere is also valuable by allowing one

to see fire broader economic and cultural contexts

firat linked Chisso and its effluent with fire commu-
nity around it (as noted above). Causes occur at
many levels or in many contexts simultaneously:
physiological, ecological, economic and political. The
lessons firat emerge here about fire conditions first
promote pollution (even if unwanted) are correspond-
ingly clearer. They can help students move beyond
the simple black-and-white view that pollution is
blatantly "evil” and can be easily avoided.

There is no question, now, that Chisso wifirheld
critical information in 1959 and continued to dump
waste. The corporation was held legally liable for.
its negligence in 1972. Yet this does not solve fire
deeper problems of responsibility. One must look at
how fire pollution first started, and later continued-
Blamingvictimsisunwarranted.Yetfirereisasense
in which the entire episode resulted from comniunal
values and social decisions. The town as a whole
welcomed C‘hisso’s arrival and later grow-fir, and the
townasawholeprosperedAndfiretownasa
whole also suffered fire unfortunate ences.
Infirisserrse,firecaseofMinamatafolloWsfire
classical form of tragedy taught since Aristotle: there
was a tragic droice, followed by unforseen tragic
consequences. The difference is that, here, events
occurred on a social rafirer firan individual level
Who, ultimately, is responsible?

Oneiessonmaybefiratallfiremembersota
society must accept fire undesirable, even unantici-
pated, consequences of fireir collective judgments.
Even if we do not "choose" individually to endorse
nuclear energy or manufacturing with toxic byprod-
ucts, for instance, we cannot abdicate
social responsibilty for the consequences of their
waste. The problem is epitomized in current efforts
to situate new landfills and hazardous waste sites.
“Anywhere but in my neighborhood (or state)" is
fire common reply. The events in Minamata challenge
whether attitudes, exemplified by fire "not-in-my—
backyard" syndrome, can be maintained effectively
or ethically.

PoltlodAcIlon

Finally, Minamata can teach us about politics and
fire environment. Due to fireir economic status and
fire social dimensions of the disease, the victirrrs of
Minamata disease were as politically handicapped
as firey were physically handicapped. They—and fire
fishermen whose livelihoods had been destroyed-—
did not initially command fire power or fire resources
toobtairrpropercompensationfromdrisso.‘l‘lrestory
of fireir struggle is equally informative.

In fire late 19503, fire diseased patients organized
a ”Mutual Help Sodety." Through continued petition-
ing, recruifing of grassroots support across Japan,
monfirs of sit-irrs at Clrisso headquarters, and an
unsightly tent settlement on fireir front sidewalk in
Tokyo, firey focused unfavorable public attention on
Clriaso. Eventually Chisso management agreed to
negotiate direcfiy wifir fire patients, rather than appeal
to the government’ 3 authority (which supported
Chisso). Another group of patients brought suit,
wherein Dr. Hoaokawa’s testimony was made public
and became instrumental in demonstrating Clrisso's
particularnegligence.'lhecourtn1ledinfavoroffire
patients, and fire demands of fire separate negotiations
groupwaemetsoonfirereafter.Thepoliticalcam-
paigrr succeeded only firrough an investment of corr-
siderable effort and time.

Someteachersmayfeelfiratsuchpoliticallessons
are inappropriate in a biology classroom. However,
students today are increasingly exposed to acts of
violence intended to “resolve" conflicts. Even in
environmentalism, we find tree-spiking and ofirer
forms'of "m ' ' or ecological sabotage
(e.g. Davis 1991). Minamata exemplifies how bearing
witness, patience and persistence can be effective

and offer a significant alternative for action.

Epflogue

Headline disasters such as fire Valdez oil spill
certainly focus our attention on fire adverse human
effects and environmental risks of some industries.
Yet sudr "incidents” like firose at Chernobyl or Three
Mile Island can also be easily dismissed as "acci-
dents” or exceptions—not as symptoms of the status
of human ecology. One can forget fire often larger
threats posed by low-level, more sustained release
of chemicals. And one can equally overlook fire more

83

armour, yet far more fundamental tensrons mvolvrrrg
attitudes, lifestyles, and economic and social forces
(Brewer & Leon 1999)——issues firat are so keenly
profiled by fire history of Minamata. One Minamata
city pamphlet frames fire lesson:
Mass production, mass consumption, and moss waste arch
mlimmoreoonmimtardpmpcmus. Yet,our¢nviroa-
meat and health are sufi'en'ng, surrounded by exhaust/um,
agriculturaldremioals,)bod ’ ,mrdoarioustoxic
substance. We can not think about our rich materialistic
lives without referring to the relationships we have with
ottrcrcountria.Minamatadiseas¢tdls us flatware“!
perpetrators as well as the victims. (”Ten things. . 1997).
The culture’s traditional fireme of unity wifir nature,
evidentinfirepoemabove,nowhasadopteda
distinctly environmental tone.

Inlfindsightitiseasytoprescribewhatoughtto
havebeendoneinMinamata—andtoassignblame
accordingly. But such an interpretation fails to
appreciate what a historical perspective can teach us.
Who could have guessed earlier fir'n century when
autos first started rolling off fire assembly line that
decades later we would be concerned about carbon
monoxide, smog. leaded gas, drunk drivers, and
global warming? Minamata is an excellent example
forsuggestinganenvironmentallyinformedefirosof
treading lightly. Even so, no one can foretell fire
long-term and sometimes undesirable
of an action, and we must cope with them as
firey emerge.

Grisso finally stopped production of acetaldehyde
in 1968, when an alternative technology for producing
plastics emerged. Still, during fire 1970s and 80s, new
patients continued to surface. In some cases, fire
symptomswerepartialznumbnessortinglinginfire
extremities, frequent headaches, or fire inability to
concentrate. Determining fire exact extent of fire mar»
cury’s effects is difficult. Wary of fire potential scope
of fire problem, fire government was at first reluctant
to verify patients. Now, more firan 12,0“) victims
havebeenverified.Morefiran$2billionincompensa-
tionhasbeenpaid, firoughfirecostscansurelynot
be rrreasured in economic terms alone.

Asdesaibedtomebyonelaparreaemfivefire
storyofMinamataloomsoverfirecountr-yasan
example of fire dark side of Japan's post-World War II
industrialization. But similar incidents of mermry
poisoning also occurred in Canada, China, Brazil and
Indonesia (Pearce 1999). Parallel cases in fire US.—
IoveCanaLT‘rmesBeadrandofirerlesshighly
profiled Superfund sites—also suggest resonances .
wellbeyondlapan. YetinMinamata,aspirithas
endured. The city now several environmen-
talawardsandsfiivestosharefirehard-eamedla-
sorrsofMinamata diseasewifirfirerestoffireworld.
From tragedy they have ultirrrately triumphed—and
that, too, is a powerful lesson. .

Mudrlikefiredroppingofnudearbombsonnearby
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the poisoning of Minamata
has left a profound legacy. The long-term biological
effectsineadrcasehaveplacedamedicalandaocial
burdenonsociety,measuredbofirintermsofyen
andourcollectiveconscience.Theyalsoserveas
poignant reminders of fire consequences when man
disregards fire environmental effects of his actions—
alessonweoftenhopetoconveyasweteachfire

many meanings of biology.

THE TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH OF MINAMATA
The Environmental Effects of Human Activity

Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper and retum this to
me with the answers. PLEASE DO NOT WRITE ON THIS PAPER! Thanks!

1. What was this article about?

2. How did the water become polluted?

3. What was the first sign that there was a problem?

4. What was the disease?

5. What are the symptoms of the disease?

6. How did the humans end up with the disease?

7. Did the Chisso Corporation know who was responsible?
8. Did they do something right away?

9. Why didn’t the employees of the corporation want to help stop the
problem?

10. Why didn’t the government do something right away?
11.What do you think the citizens could have done sooner than they did?

12.Were the people of Minamata closely connected with nature?
If so, how could this have happened?

13. How did the environmental issues of mercury in the water conflict with the
Japanese culture?

14. Do you think the same thing could happen in the United States? In Flint,
Michigan?

15.What would my do if the situation happened here in Flint through pollution

from one of our big factories?

THOUGHT QUESTION: Does pollution just come from factories/industry?

84

APPENDIX H

MEASURING IMPERVIOUS SURFACES
LAB ACTIVITY

85

MEASURING IMPERVIOUS SURFACES
UN ©TWEE WEDEES, [H]©W [HUGH] [IS RUNNUNE ©EE UNITED) THE Billet???

As we discussed earlier, most rainwater soaks into the ground and will
eventually become what we call groundwater. However, if the ground is surfaced
and the rain can’t soak in, it is what we refer to as an impervious surface. Some
impervious surfaces that are the result of urbanization or human activity are
roads, sidewalks, driveways, rooftops, etc. But just how much rain or snow will
run off of impervious surfaces?

Today we will determine how much runoff comes from the impervious surfaces on our school
campus. This will involve taking some measurements and doing some calculations so let’s get
started!

MATERIALS:

Tape measure

Pencil or pen

Paper for writing measurements
Clipboard

Calculator

PROCEDURE:

1. You will be working in groups of three. Each member of the group will play a role in this
investigation. Decide who will be the recorder and which two will take the measurements
using the tape measure.

2. Report to your teacher who will assign the area that you are to measure.

3. Once outside, set quickly to work, measuring and recording the area that you have been
assigned. If the site has areas that are not uniform, you may have to measure it in
sections then add the area together. Remember: the area of a space is the length x
width.

4. Record the measurements in the space provided on the bottom of this page.

5. After you are done measuring, report to your teacher or lab tech and wait for others to
finish. DON’T WANDER AROUND CAMPUS!

6. When we are back in the classroom, report your findings to the class recorder for use in
calculating the total runoff for our campus.

MEASUREMENTS:

Area measured:
Measurements: Length Width

 

 

Calculations:

Total area:

When you have returned to the classroom, report your findings on the data chart on the board
and copy all data into the chart below.

 

86

 

Surface Measured
Area

 

School Roof

Storage Building

Mackin Rd.Lot

Dayton St. Lot

Mackin Rd. DrivewaL
Dayton St. Driveway

Track

Driveway Between Lots
Sidewalk to Mackin Rd.
Sidewalk to Dayton St.

Auto Shop Area

Dock Area and Lot

Sidewalk Around School
Sidewalks Leading to School
Mackin Lotto School
Sidewalks Leading to School
Dayton Lot to School
Sidewalks Leading to School
Side Driveway to School
Tennis Courts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inches of rain this month:

 

Using the known area of impervious surfaces on our campus and the inches of rain this month,
calculate the amount of storm water run-off that went into the sewer and out to the Flint River.
Use the equation shown here:

rain” x 1ft/12” x ft2 impervious surface x 1gallon/.13368 ft3

DO YOU SUPPOSE THAT WATER CARRIED ANY SUBSTANCES WE WOULDN'T WANT IN
OUR RIVER?

87

APPENDIX I

STREAM FLOW PRACTICE

88

STREAM FLOW PRACTICE

Before going out to the river, it is recommended that you practice your technique.
This can be done in the hallway at school (remember that there are classes in
session so try not to be disruptivel). Tennis balls are a good substitute for the
oranges that we will be using in the river.

Materials:

Three students
Three tennis balls

Stopwatch

Measuring tape or metric sticks

Chalk

1. Using the measuring tape, measure the width of the hall or a designated
“river” area outside. Take three measurements and then average them
for the average width of the “river". Record the width for later calculations

2. Your teacher will assign a predetermined random measurement to use as
the depth of the “river”.

3. Measure the velocity of the “river” using a tennis ball.

a.
b.

_-h

Determine an area 25 meters in length & mark in chalk.

One of you (student #1) will stand at one end of the 25 meters while
two students stand at the other end of the 25 meters. (students #2
& 3)

Student #3 will be the timer (using a stopwatch)

When ready, student #3 will give the signal for student #1 to roll the
ball. When student #1 rolls the ball, student #3 will start the
stopwatch.

When the ball reaches 25 meters, the timer will stop the stopwatch
and record how long it took for the ball to travel 25 meters.

Repeat this process three times and calculate the average velocity.
Using the determined velocity, calculate the stream flow as follows:

width x depth x velocity x n = stream flow

*n is a factor assigned according to the type of substrate in the
river. For this exercise, we will use n = 0.8.

89

APPENDIX J

LEARNING TO IDENTIFY
BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES

90

LEARNING TO IDENTIFY BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES

Benthic macroinvertebrates are animals without a backbone
(invertebrates) that can be seen with the bare eye (macro) and live on or near the
bottom of the river (benthos). These animals are an excellent indicator of the
health of the river because many cannot live in a polluted environment, while
others can live in almost any quality of water. It stands to reason, then, that one
could collect these invertebrates to observe what populations are present to
determine the quality of water in the river.

Some invertebrates spend their entire life in the water while others only
spend their larval stages in the water and emerge later as adult insects. These
animals are generally easy to collect and fairly easy to identify. When we are out
in the field, we will be collecting and identifying invertebrates to determine the
composition of the communities at each site.

Today you will be identifying some macroinvertebrates that have been
collected from a site on 3 Flint River tributary. Your job will be two-fold: 1)
Identify the animals that are preserved in the bottles and 2) using the data that
you have, make a general determination about the quality of the water in the area
where the animals were collected.

MATERIALS:

Taxonomic Key to Benthic Macroinvertebrates
Macroinvertebrate specimens
Pencil

PROCEDURE:

1. There are 7 bottles/tubes containing macroinvertebrates. You will need to
share/exchange these with your classmates as you finish.

2. Using your macroinvertebrate key, identify each of the specimens in the
containers. Note that there may be more than one type of specimen if
they are tiny.

3. Enter your data into the data chart on page two.

4. Based on your data analysis, draw general conclusion about the quality of
water that these animals may have come from.

91

DA TA SHEET

Species Identified:

1.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

EXPLAIN

 

 

 

 

 

92

BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES

POLLUTANT INTOLERANT

Stonefly Nymph
Mayfly Nymph
Dobsonfly Nymph
Caddisfly Larva
Right-hand Snail
Riffle Beetle
Water Penny

MODERATELY TOLERANT
(lives in wide range)

Dragonfly Nymph
Cranefly Larva
Clams

Scud

Crayfish
Damselfly Nymph
Sowbug

Beetle Larva

POLLUTION TOLERANT

Leeches

Aquatic Worms
Midge Larva
Left-hand Snails
Black Fly Larva
Rat-tailed Maggots
Planaria

A STEP FURTHER:

Using the Invertebrate Key, draw pictures of
four of the invertebrates that you DID NOT
see in this collection today. This will help
you to be more familiar with some of these
animals when we are in the field should you
come across them in your collecting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Identify
Identify

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Identify Identify

93

 

A NOTE TO THE TEACHER:

This exercise is intended to give the students a chance to become familiarized
with some of the invertebrates they will encounter in the field. This will get
them used to being “close up” with the specimens, as well as giving them a
sense of knowing when they reach the river site. I have found that the
students show a greater interest if they can recognize something they are
already familiar with. Further, it is helpful if they only have to Ieam how to
collect the specimens at the site and not how to ID them, as well.

If you already have preserved specimens, these could be used. However, you
might want to choose a site and collect specimens for this lab. I chose a site
that is historically known to have poor water quality and collected specimens
for use in this lab. On the other hand, you may want to find a river site with
better water quality and make your collection there.

Specimens were preserved in 70% isopropyl alcohol. They were left in the
alcohol for 24 hours, then alcohol was poured out and new alcohol put in the
bottles due to the dilution of the alcohol from the specimen fluid. This should
give you a longer period of preservation.

94

APPENDIX K

POLLUTED OR NOT POLLUTED
LAB ACTIVITY

95

POLLUTED OR NOT POLLUTED? THAT IS THE QUESTION!

We have discussed, at length, the history and use of the Flint River. We have
learned that there are many things that influence the water quality of a river,
including industry, transportation, run-off from storm sewers and pavement, as well as
human activities both at home and out in the environment. In some cases, natural
processes can serve to keep water pure. However, when pollutants enter the water in
large enough quantities, nature cannot keep up.

You are scientists at an Environmental Research Laboratory in our area and
you have received a sample of water from a concerned citizens' group for analysis.
Your job is to determine whether the sample of water has come from a polluted site or
if the water is “healthy". While there are many ways that one would determine the
health of the river, we are limited in the lab to chemical testing of the water itself.

Remember that you should always have a control when conducting research.
Therefore, you will be testing an unpolluted sample to establish a baseline for your
test.

OBJECTIVE: The series of tests that you will conduct today will help to familiarize you
with some of the tests that we will be conducting in the field when we visit several
locations within the Flint River Watershed. This will be a lab in which you will also learn
how various factors affect the quality of water in the river as well as the health of
organisms that must live in that water. Further, you will learn how we, personally.
affect the well-being of the river and its residents.

MATERIALS:

l0 test tubes and a test tube rack

two capped bottles

250 ml distilled water

250 ml unknown water (this will be assigned by your teacher)
2 pipettes

stirring rods

rubber (latex) gloves

goggles

thermometer

water quality tests for:

pH

nitrates
phosphates
dissolved oxygen
conductivity

96

GETTING STARTED:

I.

9N9??? N

--o
00

II.

Collect the materials that you will need to conduct your lab and take them to
your lab station.

Obtain 250 ml of unknown water from your teacher. Your control is number
. Be certain to wear gloves and goggles when handling your unknown!

Obtain 250 ml of cfistflled water (this win be your control)

Label 5 test tubes “control: (name of test)"

Label 5 test tubes “unknown: (name of test)"

Label one capped baffle “control: do”

Label one capped bottle “unknown: do"

Put 25 ml of control water in your control test tubes

Put 25 ml of unknown water in your unknown test tubes

. Set aside the capped bottles until it is time for the dissolved oxygen test. then

consult your teacher for assistance in filling your bottles
Now let’s conduct some testsllll

PROCEDURE:

1.

2.

Observe the appearance of your control and your unknown. (Take note if there
is any type of film on the top of your water. Record your observations in your
Water QUOIIIY Table.

911 Recalthatpli lsomeasmeofhowocidlc orbaslc asubstance is. prill
affect how soluble some nutrients and some metals are in water. pH outside of
the normal range renders water unsafe for human consumption and can be fatal
to water plants and animals. pH can be affected by the natural presence of
carbon dioxide and the erosion of limestone rocks (which are carbonate rocks),
but human activity can contribute to the change in pH, as well. Acid rain or
snow as a result of the burning of fossil fuels (e.g. gasoline), chemical spils, runoff
from city streets and lawns. sewage, and agricultural activity all contribute to
abnormal changes in the pH of water. The temperature of the water will also
diectly affect the water’s pH. Using the test strips in your kit, measure the pH of
both samples of water and record the results in your Water Quality Table.

W I
till i?" Lil

 

 

 

Most aquafic organism Eve in
pH 6-9. Species diversitywl
decrease outside of this range.
A pH above 9 can dissolve
Organic substances incbding
animal skin and scales.
(American Chemical Society.
2002!

 

(Win: permission Hoosier Riverwatch)

97

3. NITRATES - As you may or may not know, nitrogen makes up ~79% of the air
we breathe and is found in the cells of all living things. Plants are able to “fix"
nitrogen by bonding it to hydrogen or oxygen, thus making compounds (e.g.
ammonia and nitrates) which render it useable to them. Plants consume the
nitrogen and, in turn, humans and other animals consume the plants, using the
nitrogen-containing compounds (i.e. nutrients) for growth, metabolism and
reproduction. However, when too much nitrogen enters the river, a chain
reaction can take place that can be deadly to living organisms. Too much
nitrate in a waterway can result in the excessive growth of surface algae and
aquatic weeds. This overabundance of plants in a waterway is known as
eutrophicaton (EWE—TRO-FE~KAY-SHUN). Deeper plants cannot get light and
die, thus wiping out a food source for bottom-dwelling organisms. In addition.
as these plants die and decay, the decomposer bacteria use valuable
oxygen, thus the other organisms suffocate.

A human consequence is the development of methemoglobinema, a condition caused
by high nitrates in drinking water. This condition, which mainly affects infants and the
elderly, prohibits oxygen from properly binding to hemoglobin (the ox ygen-carrying
molecule in the blood) so cells do not receive enough oxygen. This results in a bluish
appearance to the skin, giving rise to the name “Blue Baby Syndrome ".

The biggest contributor of nitrogen to our waterways is lawn (and crop)
fertilizer. While some fertilizer is absorbed by plants (8. gross), some is washed
off by rain and enters rivers as runoff and through groundwater. Other sources
include human sewage and animal waste runoff.

Using your nitrate test kit and following the directions in your field
manual, determine the nitrate level of your samples and enter the results in
your Water Quality Table.

4. PHOSPHATES - As with nitrogen, phosphorus is essential for plant growth and
development. And, as with nitrogen. too much phosphorus in a waterway
can promote an overabundance of algae (such as seaweed and pond
“scum"). Recall that when this occurs, sunlight is blocked from the bottom-
dwelling plants and they die. The bacteria that decomposes them will use up
oxygen that is needed by living organisms in the water and they will eventually
die, as well. This can lead to the thriving of anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that
does not need oxygen), resulting in a foul smell and the filling-in of the
waterway with decaying organic matter.

Once again, human activity can greatly increase the amount of phosphates in our
water systems. Fertilizers and detergents are the two main sources of human-
induced phosphate over-loading. Phosphates in fertilizers can enter rivers in runoff
or groundwater and detergents are often released when they are poured down sewers
or sent down drains to the water-treatment plant and then released into the river.
Further, erosion from human activity such as construction or even areas where the
grass has been wom off can also release phosphorus-containing soil into the river.
Using your phosphate test kit and following the directions in your
field manual. determine the phosphate level of your samples and enter the
results in your Water Quality Table.

98

5.

DISSOLVED OXYGEN - Dissolved oxygen is literally oxygen gas that has
dissolved in the water of the river; this oxygen is used by fish and other aquatic
organisms just like you use oxygen from the atmosphere. Different species
require different amounts of oxygen, thus some species can live in a river that
would kill others. However, there must be enough dissolved oxygen in the
water for the organisms, and as we saw in our discussion on
nitrates/phosphates. a river with too many of these nutrients will become
dangerously low in dissolved oxygen. Typically, dissolved oxygen levels less
than ~ 2 mg/l cannot support fish and many other aquatic organisms. and
more than 5 mg/I is required in order to maintain a healthy community of
organisms. The presence of oxygen in water, then, is a positive sign and the
absence of oxygen is a red flag that there is probably pollution.

Oxygen in the water generally comes from two sources:
atmospheric oxygen that is mixed in by waves and water tumbling over rocks.
and especially by algae and rooted aquatic plants that release oxygen as
they conduct photosynthesis.

Oxygen is more easily dissolved in cooler water than in warmer water.
so temperature can have an effect on how much dissolved oxygen is in a
river. In addition, human activity contributing to the collection of organic
waste (such as urban runoff from factories, neighborhood yards, sidewalks.
and street sewers—remember the effects of nitrates and phosphates!)

It is important to note that the dissolved oxygen levels will change
depending the temperature and time of day so it is important to record the
testing conditions on your Water Quality Table (date, location, time, air
temperature, and weather conditions) proceeding with the test.

CAREFULLY FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS BELOW. IT IS VITAL THAT YOU DO NOT
HAVE BUBBLES IN THE COLLECTION BOTTLE SO TAKE YOUR TIME AND PRACTICE

COLLECTING THE WATER IN SUCH A WAY THAT NO BUBBLES ARE TRAPPED.

a. Thoroughly rinse the water sample bottle before you collect your
sample.

b. Gently fill the collection bottle until it is overflowing with water (this can
be more efficiently done if you collect the water under the surface). If
you have air bubbles in your bottle, you can often get them out by
tapping the side of the bottle or dropping a small glass bead to the
bottom of the bottle.

c. Taking care not to introduce air into your water sample, immediately
add 8 drops of Manganous Sulfate Solution and 8 drops of Alkaline
Potassium Iodide Azide Solution to the sample. (GENTLEY drop the
reagents onto the surface of your water sample as you add them.)
Cap the bottle and mix the solution gently by tipping the bottle several
times. You will see a precipitate (a solid material) form which you
should allow to settle same, then tip the bottle to mix again. Now let
the precipitate settle again.

d. Use the 1 gram measuring spoon to add one level spoon of Sulfamic
Acid Powder to the water sample. Recap the bottle and gently shake
it until the acid and the precipitate have dissolved. Now the sample
will be clear-yellow to brown-orange in color (depending on the
oxygen present in the sample). Now the oxygen is “fixed" and the
sample cannot be affected by atmospheric oxygen.

e. Fill the titration vial to the 20 mL line with your “fixed" sample and cap
the vial. Add 8 drops of starch indicator to the fixed sample and gently
swirl to evenly mix the starch. Your sample should now be a purple
color.

99

f. Fill the Titrator Syringe with Sodium Thiosulfate Solution by inserting the
syringe into the plastic fitting of the bottle of Sodium Thiosulfate Solution
and turning the bottle up. Slowly withdraw the plunger MAKING
CERTAIN YOU DON’T GET ANY AIR BUBBLES IN THE SYRINGE. Stop
withdrawing when the bottom of the plunger reaches the zero mark.
Now carefully insert the Titrator syringe into the center hole of the
titration vial cap. While you gently swirl the vial, SLOWLY press the
plunger to inject the Sodium Thiosulfate Solution into the vial ONE DROP
AT A TIME just until the purple color disappears. Make a note the total
of units of Sodium Thiosulfate that were required to make the color
disappear. This is your measurement of dissolved oxygen. Record this
measurement on your Water Quality Table. Then use this measurement
on the DO Concentration Conversion chart, as well as the temperature
of the water to determine the percent saturation of the water with
dissolved oxygen. Record this figure. as well, on your Water Quality
Table.

6. CONDUCTIVITY - Conductivity is the measure of how well a substance
conducts electricity. This is true of water conductivity, as well. When an atom
gains or loses an electron, it becomes a charged ion: if it gains an electron, it
becomes negatively charged; if it loses an electron, it becomes positively
charged. As with other qualities of water, too many or too few ions can be
harmful to plants, humans and aquatic animals.

Natural ions found in water may include those such as calcium.
magnesium, chloride, nitrates, sodium, etc. If these are present, the
conductivity will increase. And while many of these ions are useful and
necessary for plant and animal growth and development, too many or too
few ions can be an indication of water quality problems. Too much salt (high
conductivity), for example may be deadly to plants, while water with low ions
can be corrosive and pull lead and copper out of pipes carrying it to
drinking water.

Human-caused ions in the water may include factory and sewage
discharge (chloride, nitrates and phosphates), as well as urban runoff of road
salt, other chemical deicers and various fluids from cars. Too few ions can
be caused by the discharge of oils into the water.

Conductivity is measured with a special meter called a conductivity

meter which has two probes that are immersed in the water sample
that can use a small amount of voltage to measure the conductivity of the
water. Because ions move more rapidly in warmer water (thereby being
better conductors of electricity), it is Important to always measure and record
the temperature of the water when measuring the conductivity.

Using the conductivity meter, measure and record the conductivity
of both water samples and record them on your Water Quality Table.

100

7. TEMPERATURE - Just as the temperature in your body must remain within normal
limits for you to stay healthy, water temperature of a river must remain
consistent, too. Temperature affects many of the functions of the river, both
biological and chemical. Remember, the amount of dissolved oxygen in the
water depends on the temperature: it the temperature of water rises, there is
less oxygen available. Cooler water holds more oxygen because oxygen
dissolves easier in cool water. Remember, too, that conductivity increases as
the temperature goes up. But what other things are affected by
temperature?

Aquatic organisms are more sensitive to disease at higher
temperatures, the rate of metabolism of organisms increases (requiring more
oxygen), photosynthesis and growth increases in algae and plants (as more
plants die, more oxygen is required for decomposition) and aerobic bacteria
cannot live (due to low levels of oxygen).

How do humans (especially in the city) affect the temperature of the
river? Stripping of vegetation along the river bank for parks or construction
removes the cooling shade as well as increasing erosion. Impervious
surfaces such as roads. parking lots, roofs. etc. absorb heat that in turn heats
water that runs over them. That heated runoff drains into the river, increasing
the temperature of the river water. Erosion from construction, worn spots in
grass, etc. also produce sediment in the river that absorbs sunlight and
increases temperature.

What was the temperature of your water samples?

Control
Unknown

8. There are other tests that can be run to help discover the overall quality of
water in a river. We will be doing the tests you have just completed, as well as
a few of the others when we visit our river. But, as you probably noticed, the
measurements are not all in the some units. To find the overall quality of water
in a river, we must convert our data into a Q-value. Using the graphs on the
following pages, determine the Q-values of your data (this will give you a
percentage) and enter them in your Water Quality Table.

As with any assessment, some tests have more weight than others. This
is true of water quality testing, as well. To give the data the value in the overall
picture that it should have. the tests have been assigned a weighting factor.
These weighting factors are on your Water Quality Table. You will multiply your
Q-values x weighting factor for each test performed, giving you a total % for
each test. Finally, add all of the percentages in your last column to give you
the Overall Water Quallty Index. This figure will give you the figure that you
need to determine the quality of your water! Now compare your figure to the
chart on your Water Quality Table to determine the overall water quality of
your unknown water sample.

. Our unknown # had a water quality rating of

 

Signatures:

 

 

101

Journal Entries: Following the journaling guidelines, enter this lab into your
journal, including an explanation of what we did in this lab exercise.

Journal Questions:

I.
2.

3.

Explain why it is important to do water quality testing.

Explain several ways that humans have an impact on our river based on the
tests that you conducted in this lab.

Tell if your unknown sample was polluted or not and explain how you came to
this conclusion.

POST-LAB UESTIONS

IO.

II.

I2.

I5.

16.

I7.

I8.

I9.

20.

What can cause the temperature of river water to change?

What problems can be caused by the change of water temperature?
What is pH?

What can cause a change in the pH of river water? Be specific.

What problems can be caused by the change in water pH?

What are phosphates?

What outside factors cause the presence of phosphates in the river water?
What is the problem with a high phosphate level in the river?

What are nitrates?

What outside factors cause the presence of high nitrate levels in the river?
What is the problem with a high phosphate level in the river?

What is meant by “dissolved oxygen"?

. Why is dissolved oxygen important in the river?

. What might cause a low level of dissolved oxygen in river water?

What is conductivity?

What human activity may affect the conductivity of the water?
What is E. Coli (Fecal Coliform)?

How does it get into the water?

What can we tell from a BOD test?

Why is it necessary to find a Q-value?

102

CONTROL SAMPLE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. Test Measurement Q-Value Weighting Total (%)
Performed (%) Factor
Ph 0.1 T
Nitrate mg/ L 0.10
Phosphate mg/L 0.10
Dissolved % Sat 0.17
oxygen
Conductivity
Temperature °C 0.10
Observations:

UNKNOWN SAMPLE
Test Measurement Q-Value Weighting Total (%)
Performed (%) Factor
Ph 0.1 1
Nitrate mg/ L 0.10
Phosphate mg/L 0.10
Dissolved % Sat 0.17
oxygen
Conductivity
Temperature °C 0.10
Observations:

 

 

 

103

OBJECTIVES

Students will:

0 Master the skills of water quality testing in the classroom before
going into the field.
Be able to explain what the individual tests mean

. Be able to describe what effect each factor has on the water
and on living organisms, as well as humans

. Learn how to calculate the Q-value for each parameter using
the Q-value graphs provided

. Understand the weighting factor and be able to use it to obtain
the total percentage for each parameter.

. Use the data obtained to determine the overall water quality of
their sample of water (taking into consideration that some tests
were not performed that will be undertaken at the river site)

Teacher notes:

- This lab will take two or three lab periods, depending on the
speed with which the students are able to work. It will be helpful
to stop at points along the way to discuss the students’ findings
and discuss any difficulty that they may be having with the tests.

. Joumaling with this lab will help to reinforce the concepts that we
‘are trying to get across. Each student will be expected to keep a
journal of their data, along with personal impressions, even when
they are working in groups.

. A preceding pH lab will give the students the skills they need to
use the dipstick/color chart method of reading test results so that
they won’t have difficulty mastering these water quality tests.

. Practice with the dissolved oxygen bottles will be helpful before
students actually try to run the test. Clean water can be put in a
bucket and the students can practice the skill of collecting water
samples with no bubbles.

. Students will probably need help with the math so the actual
overall water quality index may require one lab period of its own.
(It is important to stress to the students that some tests were not
performed today that will be conducted at the river site)

104

APPENDIX L
FIELD MANUAL FOR WATER QUALITY TESTING

105

Field Manual
For
Water Quality
Tesflng

 

Written and compiled by:
Debra Bassett

(July, 2004)

106

THE RIVER CHALLENGE — OFF WE GO!

You will now have the opportunity to experience the wonder of the river! When we
visit our various sites at the river, please keep in mind that everything we do will affect the
river and its inhabitants in some way. We must be mindful of where we step, what we throw
down, and be certain that when we leave, it doesn’t look as though we have been there at all!

While at the river, we will be doing several things: assessing the habitat surrounding
the river, testing the quality of the water in the river and collecting and identifying the critters
that live there! By analyzing the data that you have collected, you will be able to assess the
health of the river at the site where we do our study. And by comparing the different sites on
the river, you will be able to make a comparison between different areas, the urban setting
where there is much human activity and the rural setting where there is a minimum of human
activity.

OBJECTIVES

This will be an opportunity for you to Ieam about field work as you use your powers of
observation, as well as your skills at water testing, data collection and analyzing water quality.
You will also Ieam how to collect invertebrates, use your new skill of identifying those critters
and use that data as an indicator to help determine the health of the water. It is a chance to
actually be in the river and experience what it is all about!

MATERIALS

Waders

Goggles

Rubber Gloves

Water quality tests for nitrates, phosphates, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), turbidity
Thermometer with guard

Sterilized bottle for fecal coliforrn (E. coli) test (will be conducted in the classroom)
Capped bottle for biological oxygen demand test (will be conducted in the classroom)
Electrical tape to wrap BOD bottle

Conductivity meter

Distilled water

Metric measuring tape and meter stick for measuring stream

3 Oranges

Stopwatch for timing flow

Collection nets for benthics collection

2 Pan for invertebrates .

2 Sorting trays for invertebrates

Invertebrate key

Forceps

Clipboard

Monitor sheets

Writing utensil (pencil recommended)

Cooler for transporting water samples back to classroom

107

FIELD STUDY TIPS

WATER SAMPLING:

Samples should not be collected from the bank of the river. Rather, you
should take samples from the middle of the river in the current flow and
sample at least 6 inches to one foot below the water if it is deep enough. (If
the water is not wadeable, you should collect from a bridge by lowering a
collection container or from the shore with a long handle attached to the
container.) Be sure to collect samples upstream from where you are
standing and be careful not to stir up the sediment in the bottom of the stream.
Rinse the bottle two or three times with the river water before you collect the
sample you will keep. You can keep the cap on the bottle until it is at the point
where you want to collect, then remove the cap and allow the water to fill the
bottle naturally. Cap the bottle while still under water. REMEMBER!!!

When collecting for the dissolved oxygen test, there should not be ANY
bubbles in bottle.

TE§TING TEMPERATURE CHANGE

When testing the temperature of the water, lower the thermometer by
its string until its bulb is approximately 6 inches to one foot below the water’s
surface in the main stream flow. Hold it in place for 2-3 minutes. If it is
possible, read the thermometer without taking it out of the water. Otherwise,
remove it from the water and read it immediately before the air temperature
has an effect on your reading. Remember, you will need another reading at a
site approximately one mile upstream with pretty much the same shade and
water depth &velocity for your second reading. Once you have your second
reading, subtract the two figures to calculate any temperature change.
Temperature change of over 2° C indicates that there may be thermal
pollution.

HABITAT AfiESSMENT

A habitat assessment will consist of many aspects of the total river
habitat. You will be looking at the land use around the river, the stream’s
riffles, runs and pools, any dams present (natural or man-made), obvious
pollution/polluting factors, areas of erosion, substrate (bottom) type,
vegetation, stream shape, alterations from human activity, width, depth and
velocity. It is helpful to sketch a map of the river and its surrounding area. A
habitat evaluation survey form will help to guide you through the assessment.

108

BENTHIC ASSESSMENT (WHAT’S LIVING THERE?)

When collecting invertebrates, you will be in groups of three. One
person will be the “netter", one person will be the “shuffler” and one person will
be the “collector” (this person will hold and keep track of the collection pan. It
will probably be necessary to collect several nets full before returning to shore
to sort your specimens. When collecting, you should sample several areas in
the river. You will want to collect in the middle of the river, along the edge,
underneath undercut areas, along root masses and at riffles where many
important invertebrates live attached to rocks in the rapidly moving water.

The netter will stand downstream from the shuffler against the current
and force the net against the bottom of the stream while the shuffler disturbs
the stream bottom by shuffling his/her feet, stirring up the bottom. If rocks are
present, scrub your feet on the rocks or turn them over to stir up any
organisms that are attached to the rocks. Ideally, if the stream is shallow
enough, you can pick up the rocks and collect the attached animals. Each net
can be emptied into the pan and later sorted on shore in the shade.

Remember, we do not want to harm these animals; we just want to
countlidentify them!!

109

9°

9’91?

10.

11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

16.

17.

STEPS TO TAKE AFTER ARRIVING AT THE SITE:

. Assemble with your team after getting off the bus. For safety purposes, each of

you should be aware of the whereabouts of each member of your team at ALL
TIMES!

Gather any equipment that your team will be using during the field study at the
site.

Check to make sure that you have your monitor sheets and a writing utensil, as
well as your own field journal.

If you are going to be in the water, take a pair of waders.

Each person should have a pair of goggles and a pair of rubber gloves.

When all teams are assembled, your teacher will guide you to the spot where
you will either enter the river or where you will start the assessment that you will
be conducting at the site.

If you are on private property with permission, be sure to respect the property
and the property owners at all times. Remember that you are representing not
only yourself but your school district, as well.

These assessments are time-consuming so when instructed to begin, you will
want to work steadily and efficiently in order to get all of the work done before it
is time to leave.

If you are working in the river, take small steps and check your footing each
step to assure that there are no sudden deep spots.

If you are assessing the invertebrates in the river, you may want to compare
notes with another team that is conducting the same survey. Compare the
actual invertebrates and check to insure that you are identifying them as the
same animal! Once you have identified them, double check with your teacher to
make certain that you have assigned the proper identification to each organism.
If you have questions or problems with any of your tests, don’t go any further
until you ask your teacher or intern for help.

If you finish your assigned assessment before the others, you may sit quietly on
the bank of the river and begin yourjoumal entries.

Be absolutely certain that you do not litter or leave anything in or around the
nven

Dispose of chemicals in the container that has been assigned for “waste”.
When you leave the site, take an inventory of all items that you took to the site
to make certain that you are leaving with all of the equipment checked out to
you.

LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS when you go back to the bus!

HAVE FUNlllllll

110

MACROINVERTEBRATE ASSESSMENT

EQUIPMENT:

Waders
Dip net

Collecting pans and sorting trays

Forceps

10.

11.

All three of you should enter the water together, being careful to test the footing as
you go. Be sure to keep track of the others’ whereabouts.

NETTER: You will be downstream from the others. Facing your partner upstream,
force the net to the bottom of the stream, holding the handle perpendicular to the
water.

SHUFFLER Facing the netter who is downstream from you, shuffle your feet in a
side-to—side motion, stirring up the bottom so that any organisms that are there will be
swept by the river current into the dip net.

After a couple of minutes of shuffling and netting, you will want to check the net for
invertebrates. You can do this by emptying the contents of your net into the pan held
by the COLLECTOR. (If your net is full of mud, you can dip it UP AND DOWN in the
water a few times to rinse out excess mud. Don’t throw out the weeds, though. It is
almost guaranteed that there are critters in them!!)

Move to another area and repeat the [net, shuffle, collect] procedure many times to
make certain that you are collecting the maximum number of invertebrates as
possible. The more you have the more accurate picture you will have of the water
quality from which you are collecting.

Be sure to collect specimens from the middle, sides, shallow and deep areas of the
stream. Don’t neglect undercut banks, tree root areas and areas of vegetative growth.
If you are in a riffle (an area with a shallow, rocky bottom), disturb the rocks with your
feet or turn them over with your hands and use the forceps to remove any insects that
you find. As you disturb the rocks, collect with a dip net the same way you did in the
other areas.

SORTING AND IDENTIFYING is an important part of the macroinvertebrate
assessment When you have a good amount of invertebrates, take them to the
sorting/identifying team on shore and get a new pan. Go back and continue to collect
some more specimens while the other team works on your collection.

Remember to keep about an inch of water in the pan so the animals won’t die from
lack of oxygen. It is a good idea to add some fresh water periodically if it takes a
while to identify the organisms.

When sorting, you may have to wait a few minutes to watch for movement. You can
gently pick up the animals with the forceps or capture them in a small container to
move them to the sorting tray. You will undoubtedly have to pull any weeds apart and
stir around in them to expose critters hiding in there.

To help you identify the collected specimens, observe their body structure, legs, any
tails on the back, antennae, etc. Observe, as well, how they move. Movement can
sometimes be a great clue as to what they are. Use your key to help identify your
specimens, and then compare notes with another team. Confirm your identifications
with your teacher, and then gently return the animals to the water!

Don’t forget to enter your data on your monitoring sheet.

111

BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATE DATA SHEET

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date Site
Collectors Names
Parts of River Sampled:
Riffles Sediment Other
Undercut Banks RootsNegetation (explain:
Macroinvertebrates Collected:
C C C Pollution
g Pollution- g Fairly Tolerant g
C Sensitive C Can survive with somewhat C Tolerant
. . . moderate levels of dissolved
K Requrre “'9“ dissolved K oxygen - can live in fair K

oxygen level - presence of
these invertebrates indicates
generally good quality water

quality water

Can survive in low
levels of dissolved
oxygen -can live in
just about any water
quality

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gilled Snail Fingernail Clam Pouch Snail
(Rt. Opening) (Left opening)
Riffle Beetle Freshwater Clam Orb Snail
Water Scavenger Cranefly Larva Midge Larva
Beetle
Predaceous Diving Blackfly Larva Leech
Beetle
Whirligig Beetle Crayfish Planaria
Crawlingflater Beetle Amphipod or Scud Threadwonn
Caddisfly Larva lsopod Tubiflex Worm
(reddish-brown)
Water Penny Water Mite Limpet
Dobsonfly Larva Dragonfly Nymph Rat-tailed
Maggot
Stonefly Nymph Alderfly Nymph Mosquito
Mayfly Nymph Damselfly Nymph

 

 

Other invertebrates found today:

 

Based on your findings, how would you rate the water quality of this stream?

 

Explain your conclusion:

 

Did the water quality testing conducted at this site agree with your conclusion?

Signatures of team:

 

 

 

 

 

 

112

STREAM FLOW CALCULATIONS

Stream flow is a useful characteristic to measure as it can use this information to
determine its effect on physical, chemical and biological aspects of the river. It is a good tool
when making comparative studies such as different sampling dates to determine the effect of
land uses, precipitation, etc. Remember, paved surfaces increase runoff into the river and
large amounts of runoff carry sediment and potential pollutants into the water!

Using the Stream Flow Calculation Worksheet, determine the stream flow of this part
of the river. Remember that stream flow is simply the volume of water flowing past a certain
mark over a period of time. Today we will be calculating the stream flow for THIS day. After a
heavy rain, one might find that the stream flow has increased significantly! Stream flow is
typically measured in metric units of cubic meters/second (m3ls).

MATERIALS

Measuring tape (metric)

Meter stick

3 oranges

2 stopwatches

Clipboard with Stream Flow Calculation Worksheet
Calculator

Pencil

PROCEDURE:

1. Using the measuring tape, measure the width of the stream at an area that appears to
be representative of the stream. The width of the stream is the actual water at the
point where it touches the bank. It is best to take three width measurements then
average them for your average width. ENTER THIS DATA INTO YOUR STREAM
FLOW CALCULATION WORKSHEET.

2. At each area that you measure the width, take three depth measurements using the
meter stick. Take these three measurements at regular intervals across the stream.
(i.e. divide the width into 3 segments of equal width and measure the depth at each
point). ENTER THIS DATA INTO YOUR STREAM FLOW CALCULATION
WORKSHEET and calculate the average depth for each segment.

3. Measure the velocity of the stream (how fast the water is moving). This will involve all
three of the people on your team as follows:

a. Determine an area 50 meters in length in a straight section of the river.

b. Team member 1 will stand at one end of the measured area and team

member 3 will stand at the other end of the measured area with a stopwatch.
Team member 2 will stand on shore with a stopwatch in a spot where helshe
can see both team members in the water.

c. #2 will signal #1 to release the orange into the water as helshe starts the
stopwatch. When the orange reaches #3, stop the stopwatch and record how
long it took the orange to reach the end. # 2 will record the data on your
worksheet. (TRY NOT TO LET THE ORANGE GET AWAY! However, if it
does, it is biodegradable — that is why we use oranges!!!)

Repeat this process three times and calculate average velocity.

e. Calculate stream flow as follows: W x D X V x n = Flow (use averages) [Use
the constant ‘n’ indicating the roughness of the substrate - if the bottom is
sandy or muddy, use 0.9; if the bottom is gravely or rocky, use 0.8]

.0-

113

STREAM FLOW CALCULATION WORKSHEET

 

 

 

 

RIVER WIDTH (w) SURFACE VELOCITY (V) = Lengtthime
(take three measurements)
Ir_ia_l_ Len m Time (sec) Veloci mls
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
Avg. Width meters Avg. Velocity mls

 

RIVER DEPTH (0)

(take three measurements at each section)

Section One Section Two Section Three
1. 1. 1.
2. 2. 2.

3. 3.

 

Avg. Depth meters

STREAM FLOW (discharge) (S.F.)

Multiply: Wx D x VX n* = SF.

X X X = mals
(cubic meters per second)

 

‘ Remember that 'n' is a constant indicating the roughness of the substrate (bottom) of the river -
If the riverbed is sandy or muddy, use 0.9 for ‘n’
It the riverbed is gravel or rocky. use 0.8 for 'n'

Signatures of Stream Flow Team

 

 

 

Has there been recent rainfall? How much? When?

 

(Adapted with permission from Hoosier Riverwatch Volunteer Training Manual, 2004)

114

HABITAT ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET

The river habitat assessment surveys the land in and around the stream. The
condition of the land surrounding the river, including land use and human activity (including
land and river alteration) can have an effect on the health of the river.

Use the area below to sketch a map of the river site including any grass, trees,
shrubs, logs, etc. Be certain to show direction of flow, bends in the river, shallow spots
(riffles), pools, bridges, dams, crops, etc. You should make a key to show what each is.

 

 

 

115

 

HABITAT SURVEY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stream name Date
Surveyors

Weather Conditions: Temperature:

Water Temperature: Stream Velocity:
Avg. Stream Width: Avg. Stream Depth:
Estimated Stream Flow: Substrate:

 

 

Stream Shape: (has the stream been artificially channelized?)

very straight mostly straight few bends many bends
Riparian Vegetation: (check all that apply)
Trees Shrubs Plants Grass Crops Bare
Paved

Man-made Structures:

Bridges Dams Streets/roads Buildings Parking
Lot

Stream Bottom:

Silt/mucky (does gentle kicking of the bottom cloud the water for a couple of minutes?)
Large rocks (As big as a fist or bigger)

Medium rocks (Smaller than a fist but bigger than your fingernail)

Small rocks (Smaller than a pea)

 

Stream Shading:
75-100% 50-74% 25—49% 0-24%

Bank Erosion:

Extensive Moderate Little or None

 

Surrounding Land Use: (It more than one, Indicate 1= most 2= less 3= least, etc.)

 

 

 

 

 

Forest Wetland/Marsh Open Field Farmland
Residential Industrial Paved/Commercial Park
Water Coloration: Water Odor:
Muddy Clear Describe:
Trasthebris Present: (indicate in water or on bank)
Describe:
Drains or Storm Sewers Emptying into Stream? (# of drains)

 

Describe where they are coming from

 

116

CHEMICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE WATER QUALITY OF THE RIVER

Today you will have the opportunity to use the new water testing skills that you have
acquired in a real-life setting. You will also be conducting a couple of tests that we did not do
in class. By conducting this group of chemical tests and combining them with the benthics
assessment, you should be able to make a judgment about the quality of water at the site of
collection. Remember that in order to get a complete picture of what's going on with this river,
it is helpful to visit the site a couple of times a year on a yearly basis to compare what the data
looks like over a period of time.

MATERIALS

Waders for collectors

Bottles for collecting water

Test kits for nitrates, phosphates, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and turbidity
Sterile bottle for fecal coliform test

Fecal coliform test

3 sterile petri dishes

Capped bottle for phosphate test sample (to be taken back to school)
Capped bottle for Biological Oxygen Demand test (to be taken back to school)
Electrical tape for wrapping BOD bottle

Conductivity Meter

Distilled water

Graduated cylinder (25 ml)

Goggles and rubber gloves

Monitor sheet and clipboard

Cooler for transporting water samples

PROCEDURE

Collecting water samples

3. Students going into the water should have waders if water is over knee high.

4. Collect several samples of water from the middle of the stream current to use for
pH, nitrates and turbidity, The sample should be taken from at least 6 inches to
one foot below the surface if river is deep enough.

5. Rinse the bottle two or three times with river water before collecting the sample
you will test. It is helpful to keep the cap on the bottle until you are at the level
that you want to sample, then pull cap off and let bottle fill from the current run.

6. To collect for the fecal coliform test, use the sterile bottle provided. Put the lid on
the bottle right away to be certain that nothing else contaminates the contents of
the bottle.

7. Collect water for the dissolved oxygen test, using the capped bottle provided.

a. To avoid contamination of the sample, rinse the water-sampling bottle with
river water to be sampled.

b. Lower the bottle with the cap on until you are ~ 6 inches-1 foot below the
surface of the water, then remove the cap and carefully fill the sample bottle
to overflowing, taking care that there are NO AIR BUBBLES trapped inside. If
there are air bubbles inside, repeat the procedure.

c. Gently cap the bottle under water without allowing air into be trapped.

8. Repeat step #5 to take a sample for the Biological Oxygen Demand test that will
be conducted in five days in the classroom

117

PROTOCOL FOR DISSOLVED OXYGEN TEST

CAUTION: THIS ACTIVITY REQUIRES THE USE OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS THAT CAN BE CORROSIVE TO
THE SKIN

10.

11.

AND EYES. YOU MUST WEAR GOGGLES AND RUBBER GLOVES FOR THIS ENTIRE TEST!
Gently uncap the sample bottle, taking care not to Shake the bottle.

Carefully, without introducing air into the sample, add 6 drops of Winkler solution #1
(manganous sulfate solution) directly to the sample, holding the bottle tip as close to
the sample surface as possible. Now add 6 drops of Winkler solution #2 (alkaline-
iodide solution) following the same procedure.

Cap the bottle and invert gently several times. This step “fixes” the dissolved oxygen
in the sample and you will see a solid precipitate forming in the bottle.

Allow the formed precipitate to settle to the bottom half of the bottle (this could take a
few minutes)

CAREFULLY add 6-7 drops of concentrated sulfuric acid to the bottle, cap the bottle
and gently invert several times to mix solution. The acid will make the precipitate
soluble, forming a clear, gold-yellow solution.

Using a graduated cylinder, transfer 20 ml of the sample into a 125 ml Erlenmeyer
flask. DO NOT USE THE BOTTOM PRECIPITATE!

Fill the 12 ml syringe with the sodium thiosulfate solution. Make a note of the starting
volume on your monitor Sheet and in your lab report in your journal.

Titrate the sample in the flask one drop at a time with the sodium thiosulfate solution

in the syringe until the sample solution fades to a pale straw color.

Add 6 drops of starch solution to the flask and swirl gently to mix. The sample will
turn dark purple. This indicator is used to provide a very obvious endpoint to your
titration.

Return to the sodium thiosulfate titration until the solution is colorless (swirl as you
titrate to mix).

Record the total number of milliliters of sodium thiosulfate that was required to turn the
solution colorless. This number is directly proportional to the amount of dissolved
oxygen that was in the original sample.

Sodium thiosulfate used = dissolved oxygen in mgIL OR ppm

118

FECAL COLIFORM PROTOCOL

CAUTION: Fecal coliform is a bacterium. You must wear goggles and gloves when conducting this test.

10.

11.

12.

Obtain sterile bottle with water sample to be tested.

On the bottom of three petri dishes, mark
a. Date
b. Location sample was taken from
c. Mark one dish 1ml, one dish 3 ml and one dish 5 ml
d. Place the petri dishes on a flat surface where they are level and will not be
disturbed.

Check to make certain that three bottles of Redigel Colichrome 2 medium are thawed.
Using a small, sterile graduated cylinder, measure 1 ml of sample water and pour it
into a bottle of Redigel. Cap the bottle and gently invert to mix.

Pour the Redigel/water mixture into the petri dish marked 1 ml and cover.

Again using the graduated cylinder, measure 3 ml of sample water and pour into
another bottle of Redigel. Cap the bottle and gently invert to mix.

Pour the Redigel/water mixture into the petri dish marked 3 ml and cover.

Once more using the graduated cylinder, measure 5 ml of sample water and pour into
the last bottle of Redigel. Cap the bottle and gently invert to mix.

Pour the Redigel/water mixture into the petri dish marked 5 ml and cover.

DO NOT DISTURB THE DISHES FOR 30 MINUTES WHILE YOU ALLOW THE
MEDIUM TO BECOME FIRM.

After the gel is firm, tape the lids to the petri dish and return them to the school to be
read after incubation.

The petri dishes should be incubated at 445°C for 24 hours (a couple of hours more
or less is acceptable). If an incubator is not available, you may use a warm water
bath by putting the petri dishes in a waterproof bag and placing them in the bath. You
may want to invert the petri dishes to avoid condensation on the inside of the lid. Per
the manufacturer, if no incubator is available, petri dishes may be left out at room
temperature for 48 hours to establish growth.

119

PROTOCOL FOR NITRATE TEST

You will be using glassware that has been cleaned with dilute HCI and rinsed with de-
ionized water. Be certain that you are using the glassware that has been set aside
for this purpose.

CAUTION: THIS TEST INVOLVES THE USE OF CADMIUM, WHICH IS A HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL. DO NOT,
UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES POUR IT ON THE GROUND OR IN THE WATER. IT MUST BE DISPOSED OF
AFTER WE RETURN TO THE SCHOOL. BE CERTAIN TO PLACE IT IN THE CONTAINER MARKED “NITRA TE
TEST” WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED.

Y ST BBER OVES ND L AT L TI IL C DUCTI THI TE T.

1. Obtain the bottle of water collected for this test from the collectors
2. Put 2.5 ml of the water sample into the test tube provided for this test.

3. VERY CAREFULLY add the Mixed Acid Reagent to the line marked 5.0 ml
using the dropper that has been provided.

4. Place the cap on the test tube and gently shake. Wait exactly two minutes
before going on to step 5.

5. Add one level 0.1 g spoon of Nitrate Reducing Reagent. TAKE CARE NOT
TO LET THIS GET ON YOUR SKIN!

6. Cap the tub once again and invert the tube gently 50-60 times in one minute.

7. Wait for ten minutes, and then gently invert the tube a few more times.

8. Insert the tube into the comparator and match the color with the standards to
obtain a test result. This will be expressed in ppm (parts per million) Nitrate
Nitrogen.

9. Multiply the test result by 4.4 to get the ppm Nitrate result.

10. Place the liquids in the waste jar; rinse out equipment and pour rinse water
into waste jar, as well.

11. Record your results on the monitor Sheet.

120

INTERPRETING THE RESULTS OF THE FECAL COLIFORM TEST USING
REDIGEL

Caution: Fecal colonies are bacterial colonies; you should use caution when doing
this test. Never touch your face, eyes or mouth once you have started your count.

Be sure to wash your hands with soap and water when you are done with your colony
count!

1. The fecal colonies should be counted within 20 minutes of taking the petri
dishes out of the incubator. You will be using the dish with the largest sample
if there are less than 200 colonies. (If a dish has more than 200 colonies, it
should be discarded; the sample is too big). DO NOT AVERAGE COUNTS
FROM SAMPLES!

2. All coliform bacteria will cause a chemical reaction resulting in a red dye color.
These are not fecal coliforms.

3. Some bacteria will appear green. If there is any Sign of a green color, do not
count the colony.

4. True fecal coliform will produce a red color followed by a blue reaction. If the

colony appears purple, you can count as a fecal coliform. Each bluish Spot
should be counted as one fecal colony.

5. Multiply the number of colonies by a factor number that will equal a 100 ml
sample.

6. Using the Q-value graph for fecal coliform, determine the Q-value of the
sample and enter into the chart.

7. BE CERTAIN TO WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP WHEN YOU ARE
DONE.

8. Don’t throw the petri dishes away. Give them to me to dispose of later.

121

PROTOCOL FOR TURBIDITY TEST

Remember that turbidity is a measure of how much material is suspended in the river
water. This could be soil from erosion, sewage, garbage, microorganisms, etc. The
more material that is suspended in the water, the less clear it is. If you looked into
water that is not turbid, you would be able to see down into it, sometimes to the
bottom. However, if the water is turbid, you might only be able to see a short
distance.

1.

2.

Obtain the sample of water indicated for turbidity testing.

Fill one turbidity tube from the test kit to the 50 ml line with sample water. If
the black dot on the bottom of the tube is not visible when you look down
through the water, pour out enough of the water to that the tube is filled to the
25 ml line.

Fill the other turbidity tube with the same amount of distilled water as you have
sample water in the first tube.

Set the tubes Side by Side and compare the clarity.

Shake the bottle of Standard Turbidity Reagent vigorously and add 0.5 ml to
the clear water tube. It is extremely important to Shake the Standard
Turbidity Reagent to thoroughly mix it. If you don’t do so, it will affect
your test and any other test that is done with the reagent later!

Stir the contents of both tubes with a stirring rod to mix. Make sure that you
wipe off the stirring rod before you stir the second tube!

Check to see if the river water sample is still greater than the distilled water by
looking down into both tubes. If the turbidity of the river water is still more
turbid than the distilled water, keep adding Standard Turbidity Reagent by 0.5
ml increments to the distilled water (stirring each time) until the distilled water
turbidity matches the river water.

Record the total amount of Standard Turbidity Reagent that was required to
make them match.

Every 0.5 ml of STR added to the 50 ml Size sample is equal to what is known
as 5 Jackson Turbidity Units (JTUS). If a 25 ml is used, each 0.5 ml addition
of STR is equal to 10 JTUS. Refer to the table on the following page and
determine how many JTUS were measured.

122

TURBIDITY TEST RESULTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number of Amount in 50 ml 25 ml
0.5 ml Graduations Graduations
Additions

1 0.5 5 JTU 10 JTU
2 1.0 10 JTU 20 JTU
3 1.5 15 JTU 30 JTU
4 2.0 20 JTU 40 JTU
5 2.5 25 JTU 50 JTU
6 3.0 30 JTU 60 JTU
7 3.5 35 JTU 7O JTU
8 4.0 40 JTU 80 JTU
9 4.5 45 JTU 90 JTU
10 5.0 50 JTU 100 JTU
15 7.5 75 JTU 150 JTU
20 10.0 100 JTU 200 JTU

 

 

 

 

10. Record your results on the monitor Sheet in JTUS!

11. Place all liquid in the non-hazardous waste jar. Rinse both cylinders and
place that waste liquid in the non-hazardous jar, as well.

DO NOT POUR ANY LIQUID ON THE GROUND!!!

123

 

PROTOCOL FOR pH TEST

1. Obtain a bottle of sample water for the pH test.
2. Fill a sample tube to the mark with sample water.
3. Add 10 drops of pH indicator solution.

4. Put a cap on the tube and invert to mix.

5. Insert the tube into the comparator that most closely matches the color of your
tube.

6. Remove the cap and hold the comparator up to the light.

7. Take your pH reading from the comparator.
What if the water is turbid (cloudy)?

1. Fill the other four tubes with sample water

2. Insert the tubes into the comparator in the row behind the sample. You will
skip the hole behind your original sample.

3. Place the clear glass ampule of water that is included in the test into the hole
behind your original sample. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH IT!

4. Once again hold up the comparator to the light and take a reading.
5. Record your reading on the monitor sheet.

6. Place all liquid into the non-hazardous waste jar, rinsing out the tubes and
also pouring the rinse water into the waste jar.

124

PROTOCOL FOR FIVE-DAY BIOLOGICAL OXYGEN DEMAND
(BOD)

This test will be conducted at the school five days from the day of collection.
In order to get an accurate reading, the bottle must be kept in a dark environment at
room temperature. To ensure that no light will get to the sample, wrap the bottle
completely with black tape to block the light. Make sure there are no open areas
where the light can get through. This is because if there is microscopic plant life in
the bottle, the plants will conduct photosynthesis if there is light available. A
byproduct of photosynthesis is oxygen, so the test results would be inaccurate!

1. After five days, conduct the dissolved oxygen test on the water sample.
Again, take care that you do not introduce air into the test sample as you
conduct the test!

2. You will determine the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) by subtracting
the 5-day DO from the DO test that was conducted on the day it was
collected at the river.

DO at river - DO 5th day = Biological Oxygen Demand

3. Record your results on the monitor sheet.

. If there are living organisms in the water that use oxygen, it will cause the
dissolved oxygen level to go down. This usually takes place in water that has
too much organic matter, which causes other organisms to die and decay. A
high BOD can indicate a pollution problem while a BOD of only 1-2 mg/L
indicates higher quality water.

125

PROTOCOL FOR TOTAL PHOSPHORUS TEST

CAUTION! THE TESTS FOR PHOSPHORUS USE HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS. THEREFORE, YOU MUST WEAR
RUBBER GLOVES AND GOGGLES WHILE CONDUCTING THIS TEST.

It is important that you use glassware that has not been washed with soap that
contains phosphates. This could result in an inaccurate reading.

PART ONE

1.

99°!“

11

13.

The water sample for this test must be filtered before conducting the test.
Filter 75 ml of the sample water into a 125 ml Erlenmeyer flask, using a
funnel and a folded piece of round filter paper. The filter paper will fit into
the funnel if you will fold it in half twice, then tease it open at the top and
slip into funnel.

Measure 50 ml of the filtered sample and pour it into another 125 ml
Erlenmeyer flask.

Use a 1 ml dropper (marked “sulfuric acid” to add 1 ml of sulfuric acid to
the 2nd flask and gently swirl to mix the solution.

Add 0.5 g of Ammonium Persulfate to the flask and gently swirl again to
mix and dissolve the Ammonium Persulfate.

Put the flask on a hot plate and boil GENTLY for 30 minutes. Add
deionized water to the flask, as necessary, to keep the volume at 10 ml as
the solution boils. NEVER ALLOW THE FLASK TO BOIL DRY OR
SMOKE.

After 30 minutes, remove from the hot plate and allow to cool to room
temperature.

After the solution cools, add one drop of Phenolphthalein.

Use a 1 ml dropper marked “Sodium Hydroxide” and add Sodium
Hydroxide one drop at a time until the solution turns a pale Shade of pink.
(You will notice the change much easier if you place the flask on a piece of
white paper)

Add one drop of sulfuric acid (this Should make the solution colorless)

. Pour the sample into a 50 ml graduated cylinder and add a small amount

of deionized water to the flask. Swirl the solution around to try to rinse all
of the water off the sides of the flask.

. Pour that water into the graduated cylinder with the rest of the sample.
12.

Keep slowly adding deionized water to the graduated cylinder until there is
exactly 50 ml of solution in the cylinder.

Wrap aluminum foil over the top of the cylinder TIGHTLY and invert the
cylinder a couple of times to mix the solution.

126

PHOSPHATE TEST PART TWO - There are two different tests you can do in part
two and it is hard to know which one to do. It depends on what the ppm of phosphate
is present and there’s no way to know that ahead of time. Project Green suggests
trying the test for 1.0 - 10.0 ppm first; if you end up having more, you can go back
and do it again, this time for the 10 -100 ppm range.

For 1.0 to 10.0 ppm Phosphate

9’

NPR“?

1. Fill a test tube from the kit to the mark with the sample.
2.

mm a 1 ml dropper, add 1.0 ml of VM Phosphate to the sample. Put a
stopper into the test tube and mix by inverting the tube.

AFTER FIVE MINUTES use another dropper to add 3 drops of Reducing
Reagent, stopper the tube, and mix by inverting the tube.

Watch for color, which Should develop in about 10 seconds.

Put the sample tube into the VM-12 Comparator and take the reading.
Record your results on the monitor sheet.

All waste should be put in the non-hazardous waste jar, rinsing out all
glassware and putting the rinse water in the waste jar as well.

For 10 to 100 ppm Phosphate — you will need to use this procedure if you find that
you have more than 10 ppm Phosphate in your sample water.

1.

95‘9”"? S" .N

Use a 0.5 ml dropper and add 0.5 ml of sample water to the test tube. Add
distilled water until the tube is filled to the mark.

Use a 1.0 ml dropper and add 1.0 ml of VM Phosphate to the sample, stopper
the tube and invert several times to mix the solution.

AFTER FIVE MINUTES use another dropper to add 3 drops of Reducing
Reagent. Stopper the tube and mix by inverting the tube.

Watch for color, which should develop in about 10 seconds.

Put the sample tube into the VM-12 Comparator and take the reading.
Multiply the value of the reading by 10 to get the Phosphate level.

Record your results on the monitor Sheet.

All waste should be put in the non-hazardous waste jar, rinsing out all
glassware and putting the rinse water in the waste jar as well.

127

PROTOCOL FOR WATER TEMPERATURE CHANGE

Remember that water temperature is extremely important in a number of ways.
There are many stream characteristics that are affected by the water temperature
such as DO, photosynthesis rate, and the metabolic rate of the organisms that live

there.

MATERIALS

Thermometer with guard
Rubber gloves
Waders, if necessary

PROCEDURE

1.

Be certain that you are using a thermometer with a guard to avoid the risk of
the thermometer breaking.

Lower the thermometer approximately 4 inches below the surface and keep in
place for about two minutes or until a constant reading is reached.

Have a second student verify the reading and report findings on the monitor
sheet

Repeat steps 2 and 3 three times and calculate the average temperature
reading for this Site.

Move approximately one mile upstream and repeat the above procedure.

Subtract the upstream temperature from the downstream temperature using
the following equation:

Downstream temp. - Upstream temp. = Temperature change

Record the temperature change on your monitor sheet.

128

Chemical Assessment of Water Quality - Monitor Sheet

 

 

 

 

Date Location:
Time: Air Temperature:
Weather Conditions:

 

Weather Conditions in past 24 hours:

 

Data Collector:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST CONDUCTED UNITS OF MEASURE AVERAGE READING
Dissolved Oxygen mglL - % Saturation
Fecal Coliforrn colonies/100 ml
pH Units
Temperature Change °C
Total Phosphate mg/L
Nitrate mg/L
Turbidity JTU
BOD 5-day mg/L

 

 

 

Signature of data collector:

 

Date:

 

 

129

WEIGHTING FACTORS FOR WATER QUALITY TESTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST Q- WEIGHTING
UNITS Value FACTOR PERCENT TOTAL
(%)

Dissolved % Sat 0.17 = 17%
Oxygen

Colonies 0.16 = 16%
Fecal ""100 '
Colifonn m
pH Units 0.11 = 11%
BOD 5 day mglL 0.11 = 11%
Temperature °C 0.10 = 10%
change
Phosphate mglL 0.10 = 10%
Nitrate mgIL 0.10 = 10%
Turbidity JTU 0.08 = 08%
Total Solids mgIL 0.07 = 07%

QUALITY OF WATER
OVERALL WATER QUALITY INDEX QUALITY OF WATER

90 - 100% Excellent
70 - 89% Good
so - 89% Medium
25 - 49% Bad
0 - 24% Very Bad

 

 

(Courtesy of Rivers Curriculum Guide, Bryan, et. al. 1995)

130

 

 

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131

15

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Q—value (Z)

,Q-value (Z)

100

Q-values for Phosphate Test

1

 

'2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9,10
Total Phosphates (mg/L)

Q-Values for Temperature Change

 

-2

Q—value (Z)
88888388v

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Q-values for Nitrate Test

§

Q-value (Z)
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Total Nitrates (mg/L)

Q-values for pH Test

§

 

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
pH: units

(raver! Currlculum Guide, Bryan I995)

132

Q-value (Z)

Q—value (Z)
8 2! S is 8? 3 IS 8

Q—values for Turbidity. Q-values for Secchi Disk Readings
1m ‘

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(Rlvers Curriculum Glide. Bryon. I995)

133

Interpreting Your Water Quality Data

   

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© The Watercourse, 2002

134

   

 

Interpreting Your Water Quality Data/ Cont.

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mlcromhos/cm Increase wastewater treatment 0 ions such as chloride, phosphate, and Rivers In the US:
or plant effluent nitrate 501500
microsiemens/c Heal streams:
m (HS/cm) Mining operatiom ionssuch as sulfate, cadmium, 150-5
or arsenic in mine d Some industrial
- eilluent: 10,000
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not dissolve into ionic components
industrial effluent Oils, alcohols, sugar, and many
hazardous o compormrh reduce
the number charged tons per unit
volume of water
Urban runoff Oils
Dissolved increase Aeration Waterfalls, rapids, rocks, and turbines Disolved levels
oxvaen (DO): add oxygen to water required for aquatic
measures the organisms
amount of Photosynthesis Phnts give oil oxygen
oxygen
dmolved in Temperature Colder water is able to dissolve more
water in (ms/l) oxygen than warmer water 0 lhdonged
l
Decrease Respiration, Plants, animals, and 2 lethal
decomposition, and consume oxygen during these 3 -
chemical reactions processes 4
5 to most
Turbidity hummudeaesing 6 aquatic organism
photosynthesis and decay . 7
and decomposition 8 wally
9 for growth
Causeswatertemperaturetorlseby 19 andactrvity
increasing absorpdon of solar radiation
Ground water lnfluent bow in dissolved oxymn became it is Note: DO levels can
not exposed to the atmosphere while fluctuate grea with
underground depth, in
lakes reservoirs
Elevation above sea level As annospheric pressure decreases,
less oxygen is dissolved in the water
Reservoirbottom-water lowinDOduetoreservolr
lnliuent stratification
Nutrients Fuel overgrowth of algae, which die
and decompose
Hardness: Surrounding geolo Weathering and erosion of limestone Water hardness levels
measures the 87 in mg/i of CaCO3
concentration of Waste water treatment Residues irom food substances and
dissolved plant effluent cleaning agents 0-60 = soft water
mm Mining Expose rocks caldum and 353120 = moderately
me operations containing
polyvalentcatlons magnesium 121-180=hardwater
in 181 and greater = very
(mg/i 0‘ QC03) Surrounding geology Weathering and erosion of granite or hard
igneous rocks

 

Healthy Water, Healthy People Testing Kit Manual

135

 

Interpreting Your Water Quality Data/ Cont.

 
     

i

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nitrate: increase Nutrients 0 Runoff from agricultural land, The EPA suggest that
measures the residential lawns, and golf courses unpolluted waters shall
organic or contain less than
fertilizer Human and animal wastes ' Wastewater treatment plant effluent, mg/I of nutrients
matter in water runoff from areas containing pet or
in (mg/i] animal waste
0 Direct defecation of animals and
birds/waterfowl ln waterways
Burning of fossil fuels - Releases long—term store of nitrogen
Decrease Nutrienrfree influent - Spring, tributary, runoff or other clean
water water source that reduces the level
of nutrients per urrlt volume of water
Plantuse - Nitratasareusedbyaquaticorganlsms
for growth
pH: increase Photosynthesis 0 Plants use carbon dioxide, which acidic
measures the reacts with water to form carbonic I Slam-dd
hydrogen ion a
concentration or Mining operations - Add mine drainage 3 Softdrinks
activity on a mug 4‘ Add rain
logarithmic scale Decrease Respiration 0 Plants gve off carbon dioxide, which mg: 5 Natural rah
(no units] reacts with water to form carbonic '3!
acid neutral 3 3
optimal in 593 W
Surrounding vegetation - S hagrum moss and pine needles are my ,9
s tiy acidic (bogs, marshes, and in
pine forests) ll
12 Bleach
0 Denying vegetation produces omnlc 13
acids basic i4 Drain dang
Burning fossil fuels 0 Ernisflons react with the atmosphere
to form acid precipitation
Pb hate inc-ease Surrounding geolorzy - The mineral file contains The EPA that
Measures08p the w W greater mum/i of
organic or fertilizer total phosphates
matter Human and animal wastes 0 Waste water treatment plant effluent, _ stimulates plant growth
water runoff from areas containing pet or natu
te eutrophicatlon rates
0 Direct defecation of animals and
birds/waterfowl in waterways
Nutrients 0 Rum! from agicuitural land, residential
lawns, and golf courses
Decrease Nun'ient-free lnliuent water 0 Sprinp, tributary, runoff or other clean
water source that reduces the level of
nutriean per unit volume of water
Plant use
- Phosphates are used by aquatic
organisms for growth
increase Weather/seasonal - Water temperature Varies with air
temperature
Tern Removal Of vegetation - Stream-bank vegetation provides shade Many plants, bass,
measures the average and reduces runoff (turbidity) Crappie, bluegill. carp,
amount of heat in sucker. caddgsflv. larvae.
e wa degees lmpoundments ' dments increase the surface area man fis at
Fahrenheit ('F) or of the water that Ls exposed to tern ratures around
degrees Celsius ('Cl 20° (63°F)

 

© "me Watercourse, 2002

136

 

Interpreting Your Water Quality Data/ Cont.

 

 

Some plant life, trout,

 

 

 

 

solar radiation
cont. walleye, northern pike,
Thermal pollution Warm-water disch from power StoneflY nymph, caddis
plants and other coo g waters amd‘gtefim
Urban runoff Water is heated by asphalt and $533595 0 ’
pavement ‘4 C (57 F)
Few plants trout,
Decrease Cold water inflow Groundwater tributary, spring, and '
reservoir bottom water can be colder $3333? “one?
than the receiving water few fish dmgnymp ’
Depth Seasonal stratification, especially in ?‘C (f‘F)
lakes
Total dissolved increase Seasonal/weather Runoff from rain an snowmen carries According to the World
solids (TDS): dissolved constituents Health Organization
measures ions TDS of natural waiter"
and particles that Erosion Agricultural, road-building, sources varies tly
willpass construction,andloggingalllncreme lemm
a filter With erosion rates. to as much as
of about 2 Waste water treatment 6,000 mm
microns (0.002- plant effluent Many dissolved constituents are not
0.004 cm) removed
in size in mg/l) Surrounding geology
Limestone or sedimentary rocks
Organic matter dissolve easily, releasing ions
Urban runoff Decaying plants and animals
Chemical deicers, salts, fertilizers
(nutrients), and chemicals
Decrease Surrounding Geology Granite and igneous rocks often do
not dissolve easily
Turbidity: Increase Erosion Agriculture, roadimilding. i at groun ter-
measures either construction, and logging all increase a: ,5 Midway?“
the clarity of erosion rates than l mu
water using a
Secchi Disk, or Nutrients Increased algal growth
the amount of
light reflected by Weather/seasonal Runoff from snowmelt or rainfall
suspended
cles 3 Urban runoff Salts, fertilizers (nutrients), chemicals,
idimeter sediment .
either a Secchi
(meters) Ol' increases stream-bank erosion since
a dimeter pavement prevents slowseepage of
readin in water into the ground
Neph ometrlc
Turbidity Units Forest fires/flooding Temporarily increases erosion and
(NW) therefore turbidity
Waste water treatment Nutrients increase algal growth
plant effluent
Carries dissolved and srspended solids
Decrease Erosion prevention Stream-bank vegetation; Best

 

 

 

measures

 

Management Practices for agriculture,
roadobuilding, construction and

10881118

 

 

Healthy Water, Healthy People Testing Kit Manual

137

 

AQUATIC CHEMISTRY REFERENCE SHEET

 

1*

 

 

 

 

 

 

F.

‘pl-i (measured in pH units) indicates the concen-

tration of l-i+ ions in a solution, measured on a
logarithmic scale. A solution with a pH of 4 is .
ten times more acidic than one with a pH of 5.
Most aquatic organisms favor relatively stable,
neutral streams, though some tolerate or thrive
in moderately acidic or variable streams. The

, median pH of US streams and rivers is about 8.

 

pfi

0-4.0 Aquatic life is severely stressed

44.5 Few fish and invertebrates can survive

4.5—6.5. Acid-tolerant invertebrates and fish can
survive

6.5-8.5 Suitable for most aquatic animals

6.5-13.0 Suitable for most aquatic plants

S.0-9.0 Suitable for human consumption

m (ppm or nus/Li

 

0.005-0.05 Typical of undisturbed forest streams

 

 

 

 

'Phosphatetyplcallylimltsplontgrawthlnrlvers

and streams, and phosphate levels above 0.1
ppm can result in algal blooms. The presence
and extent of blooms will vary according to
other variables such as temperature and nitrate
levels. Stream phosphate levelsmay be too low
to detect. Consult yourtest kit or probe to
determine appropriate range. Most US streams
and rivers have 0. 05 to 0. 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nitrogen is an important nutrient for plant
growth, and nitrate levels above 0.1 ppm can
result in algal blooms if sufficient phosphate
and other nutrients are present. High nitrate
concentrations indicate pollution from fertilisers
or runoff from agricultural or urban sources.
MostriversandstreamsintheUShavelevels

 

between 0.2 and 0.2 ppm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

<0.5 Suitable for human consumption

0.05-0.1 May increase aquatic plant growth

>0.1 . Likely to cause algal blboms

1.0 Approximate ideal upper limit for
wastewater treatment plant effluent

Nitrate (ppm or neg/l.) .

0.1 Typical of undisturbed forest streams

0.1—1.0 May increase aquaticplant growth

>1.0 May cause algal blooms

<10 Suitable for human consumption

<90 No directeffect on fish ’

W omen (ppm or rug/I.)

0—3 Few organisms can survive

3-4 Only a few fish and invertebrates can -
survive

4—7 Most non-trout, warm-water fish
species can survive

5 EPA’s suggested lower limit for mainte-
nance of healthy aquatic biota

> 7 Necessary for trout, salmon, and many

invertebrates. Neither low nor high
dissolved oxygen levels are directly
harmful to humans

 

Becauseltisagas, oxygen diffusion intowater
is limited by temperature. Colder water can hold
more oxygen than warmer water. Using the
Mograph in Figure 2.7, you can determine the
percent saturation for each sample. Percent
saturation levels lower than 80 percent may
indicate presence of decomposing organic
matter such as untreated sewage or manure.
Most US streams have dissolved omen levels
from'8.5 to 10.5 ppm.

 

138

 

 

v

 

 

 

 

Alkalinity is typically expressed as mg/l. CaCO,. it is
a measure of a stream's ability to buffer inputs of-
acidity, for example by acid precipitation. The
higher the alkalinity, the higher the buffering .
capacity. Highly buffered streams are better able to
support organisms sensitive to acidity. Most US ‘
streamsrangefram 25to 150mg/LCaCO,.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chloride isa component of salt (NaCl). Road salt .
runoff can raise streamwater chloride levels to
over 10,000 ppm and harm stream organisms. _
Note that chloride is an ion (Cl'), and should not
be confused with the chlorine (Cl) that is found

in bleach and used to disinfect swimming pools.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20 EPA's suggested lower limit for
makrtenrm'ce of healthy aquatic
<25 Poorly buffered
25-75 Moderately buffered
>75 Highly buffered
Chloride (ppm or mg/I.) ‘
<12 ‘ Typical of undisturbed forest
:0-200 Suitable for most fish and
invertebrates
200—1000 Suitability varies by species
.‘500 Suitability for human consumption
>1000 Most aquatic invertebrates are
negatively affected
. Temperature (°C) A
<13 Suitable for cold-water species such
as trout, salmon, mayflles,
' caddisfiles, and stoneflies
13-20 Suitable'for some salmon, mayflies,
caddisflies, stoneflies, and beetles
20-25 Suitable for most other fish, Invert-
ebrates, and’ warm-water species
525 Ledral to tram, sdmon. many aquatic

Temperature is important because aquatic
organisms are adapted to life within certain
temperature ranges, and also because it affects
the concentrations ‘of dissolved oxygen. Salmon
and trout require high dissolved oxygen levels
that can be found only in cold streams. Aswater
gets warmer, concentrations of dissolved
decrease at the same time that the need for
oxygen goes up because of increases in metabolic
rates of co organisms.

 

(Watershed Dynamics. Caflsen std. 2&34)

139

 

Water Quality Standards

 

Per the Indiana Administrative Code (327 [AC 2), the following water quality standards exist for most of the
state’s rivers and streams; however, water quality standards may vary among waterways. Always check
with the [DEM-Office of Water Management at (317) 232-8670 for official water quality information.

Dissolved Oxygen = average > 5, not < 4 mg/L; also > 7mg/L trout spawning
E. coll = < 235 colonies/100 ml for total body contact

pH _ = average between6and9

Water Temp Change = < 5° F change downstream; also < 2° F trout stream
Total Phosphates = < 0.04 mg/L

Nitrate Nitrogen (N) = < 10 mg/L

Nitrates (N03) = < 44 mg/L .

Total Solids = < 750 mg/L

Guide for We fer Qualify Ranges

 

Dissolved Oxygen (°/o Saturation) Total Phosphate (mg/I.)

91-110 Excellent <.10 Excellent
71-90, >110 Good .11-.16 Good
51-70 Fair .17-.58 Fair
<50 Poor .59-2.99 Poor
- >3.0 Very Poor
E.Coli (colonies per 100ml)
<50 colonies Excellent *Nitrate Nitrogen (N)'(mgll.)
51-200 colonies Good <0.3 Excellent
201-1000 colonies Fair .4-.8 Good
>1000 colonies Poor .9-1.9 Fair
>2.0 Poor
pH (Units) '- Not muupued by 4.4
6.5-7.5 Excellent
6.0-6.4, 7.6-8.0 Good Turbidity (“file or ftllnchee)
5.5-5.9, 8.1-8.5 Fair 1-10 or >3' Excellent
<5.5, >8.6 Poor 10.1-40 or 1-3' Good
401-150 or 2"-1' Fair
BOD (mall. or ppm) >150 or < 2" Poor
<2 Excellent
2.0-4.0 Good Total Solids (mg/I.)
'4.1-10 Fair _<100 Excellent
>10 { Poor 100-250 Good
251-400 Fair
Temperature Change (°C) ' >400 Poor
0-2 Excellent
2.2-5 Good
5.1-9.9 Fair
>10 Poor
mibasiafivamtchcom

140

Pollution Indicators Table

 

”w W'Tg'j" . "f 1,37,.1‘? . 7....

(X' ‘ 717‘." g . “ix-"Ar! '3.-
lt- " l..' " ‘. L‘ 3‘".

2k :2. ; u ,
'1". J; . w .’. L. ‘1

"-‘~' -1. " ‘4 ~ Ala ‘Ji‘

   

r ,‘7 .v s. - '- v‘rx. . 5' .
p; at r.:-".' . .__ :1. x; '.' w . ‘
um... .- .- .‘r . - -
‘ ' . ‘0 -.I ' I, e
. : r ‘ ‘ y . r '-
' do '7 s '- ‘ f ‘ 1‘ ‘ r e. 1'

 

Agricultural

erosion/sedtnentatbn

pesticiderunoff
nutrientrunoff

antnal waste

1
f l
, 3|. I .‘
. . - n. "‘"u :“- F I 6 '-\ l“ ‘V . ’ ' '
, x“ i, - ‘. is 1. l .-‘_ In, :1 I r" . I I
. ‘ " . ‘s, I s
-3 : ‘.‘_ i , ‘ , ‘ ‘ '1 .
”‘9'. ..“ .' ., ' .
r‘ 5) .L' L‘:'~L 1 if 41‘: .. u. . . T

fecal coform
E. col

phytoplankton

dissolved oxygen
BOD '

ntrates

phosphates
BOD

 

Residential

nutrient mnoff

human] pet waste

stormwater mnoff

ntrates
phosphates

fecal col'orm

Ecol

temperature
total sokls

phvmpbnkton
macrophytes
dissoNed oxygen
BOD

nirates

phosphates
BOD

 

Industrial

toxi: discharges

thermal discharges

temperature

benthics

phytoplankton
dissolved oxygeL

 

Mining

 

act! drahage
heavy metals

erosbn/sedtnentatbn

 

 

pH
benthbs

turbtlty
total soils

 

benlhkzs

benthkzs

 

 

141

W pernisslon. Hoosier Riverwatch)

Water Contammants Worksheet

 

main: Specific Contaminant Possible Environmental nnd'iiuman Health Impacts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PetWaste ' . Nitrate ' _ A191 blooms—dissolved oxygen depletion ,
_ - Phosphate A191 blooms-dissolved oxygen depletion, (foster-la
C0_'!!!_‘xt'l'l- . _c ‘ .z_
Sediment . '. turbidity . Blocks sunlight, kills submerged vegetation
. Phosphate Algal blooms, dissolved oxygen depletion
' . Conform b'aderla Human illness (wathiarrhea, fever, and dehydration)
Sewage ' . Nitrate ' A191 blooms, dissolved oxygen depletion
f ' . . Coll_iog_m haw Human illness (wag: dimrhggi fig, and dehydration)
litter. ‘ ‘ . Conform bacteria Human illness (watery diarrhea, fever, and dehydration)
Parking lot Runoff . Petroleum products Human illness (fever, chills, vomiting)
(benzene, toluene, organic
lead compounds.)
Fertilizers . Nitrate ' Ai9l blooms, dissolved oxygen depletion
- .' Phosphate Algl blooms: human illness (resizing-y Elbert) .
Pesticides. . Chlorinated hydrocarbons, Hunian illness (headaches, dizziness, remit-story problems)
rhothane (DDD), lindane '
. . _ (HCH 's), Atrazlne Animal illness (muscle tremors, convulsions, tetanus) .
Air Pollution ' Acid rain (mutate aerosols, Human illness (inherited heart defects, respiratory diseases,
- _ nitrogen oxides,copper, 9strointestinal dBorder-s,skinandeyedlseases,asthma,
nickel, 'zlnc) . bronchitis, lung inflammation-asthma and'emphysems)
-.Sulhirdloxide ' , ' Acidifieswatersflakes, rivers, my
Boat Pollution . Sewage waste (bacteria) ' Human illness (watery diarrhea, lever, dehydration,
dizziness, muscle aches, vomiting)
. Nutrient loading Weds piscldda outbreaks; red-tide ai9l blooms
. Litter Animal strangulation (can block digestive system when
’ . W) ~ .
oOilspills ' Humanlllness(csncei;sterllity,braindyslimciion,
. fever, chills ear dbchaigeLvomiting) ,
Waterfowl - Colifonn bacteria Human illness (watery diarrhea, fever; and dehydration)

 

Healthy Water, Healthy People Water Quality Educators Guide

142

Habifaf Parameters for
Selected Macrain verfebra fes”

 

 

 

 

 

caddisfly XXXX

snails . XXXXXXXXX
clams XXXXXXXXX
mussels XXXXXXXXX

 

 

’ pH ranges 1-6 and 10—14 are unsuitable for trust organisms.

Temperature Ranges for Selected Macroinvertebrates

water
water beetles
water striders

 

Minimum Dissolved Oxygen Levels for Selected Macroinverbebrates

snail
rat-tailed

 

* The values provided are preferred ranges for most species of these groups of organisms.

(With permission, Hoosier Riverwatch)

143

NOTES TO THE TEACHER

This can be a very rewarding experience for both you and your students. There are
several things to be considered when undertaking this unit.

.00.“.0’

10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

If you are taking your students into the river, it is imperative that they have waders or
boots if they are in a stream that is potentially polluted. Waders are an expensive
item (~$80/pr.). I called the local sporting goods stores and procured some
donations, but not everyone was willing to give!
It is advisable to have several adults along to assist. I contacted the local college
campus to recruit upcoming science teachers and members of the local biology club
to come along on the field trips. This is helpful because they do have some biological
background and are fairly knowledgeable about the process.
When taking students to the river, it is advised to take along safety equipment:
Cell phone
Rope
Eyewash
Blanket in case of a fall in the river! I also suggested that students bring along
a complete dry change of clothing including shoes and socks

e. Towels

f. Safety goggles

9. Rubber gloves
The test protocols that are in this Field Manual are written for LaMotte water test kits;
different test kits may have different directions! Dipstick tests are available, but I
found that they are not necessarily as accurate as the liquid chemical tests.
You may want to have students work in teams of three. It helps to give each student
something meaningful during the field trip.
If students finish early, they can help other groups, work on their journal entries, or
collect equipment.
Egg cartons can be used for sorting pans for the macroinvertebrates.
We chose not to take the animals back to the school; however, if you would like to
preserve the animals for identification in the classroom, they can be placed in bottles
with 70-90% isopropyl alcohol. It is helpful to change the alcohol in 24 hours due to
dilution of the alcohol from the fluids in the animals. This should help preserve them
for a longer period of time.
It is helpful to visit the site ahead of time. You will want to check depth of water,
steepness of banks, accessibility of site, etc.
Arrange ahead of time which students will do which test at the site. It is fun to have
them switch activities when they visit a second site.
Insect repellent is highly recommendedll
It is helpful to have each group collect and carry their own equipment to the water.
You may want to assign one or two students to be responsible for checking out
equipment to each team.
For the sake of time, it is easier to have the students determine the Q-values of their
tests that next day in the classroom.
You will want at least two waste containers on site — one for hazardous waste and one
for non-hazardous waste.
It is best to use an alcohol thermometer due to the risk of mercury contamination of
the water if the thermometer breaks.
It is best to have a “practice day” ahead of time so the students are familiar with the
tests that they will be performing on site. It is worthwhile, as well, to have the students
become familiarized with the invertebrates before they go out (see preceding labs)

9.0.5!”

144

REFERENCES

Bryan, V., Burbank, A. and Ballinger, J. (1995). Rivers Curriculum Guide:
Chemistm. Parsippany, NJ: Dale Seymour Publications.

Carlsen,W., etal. (2004). Watershed Dynamics. Arlington, VA: NSTA
Press.

Hoosier Riverwatchcom, (October, 2004). Voldnteer Stream Monitoring
Training Manual.

Project Green, (2004). Flint River Project Volgnteer Manual.

Project WET, (2004). Healthy Water. Healthy People Water Qualig
Educators Guide.

Project WET, (2004). _He_althv Water, Hegjthv Pegle TestindKit Manual.

Stapp. W. and Mitchell, M., (1990). Field Ma_nual for Water gualm
Monitoring. Dexter, Ml: Thompson-Shore Printers, Dexter.

145

APPENDIX M

POST-UNIT TEST

146

10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

15.

Test Your Newly Acquired Water Knowledgell

Describe water pollution and use examples.

 

 

 

 

Where does river pollution come from?

 

 

 

 

How does it become pollution?

 

 

 

 

 

Name a polluted site and tell me where some of the pollution came from (BE SPECIFIC):

 

 

 

What affect does pollution have (on things that live in the river, as well as humans)?

 

 

 

 

 

Does it affect you? How?

 

 

 

 

Do you pollute (even unintentionally)? How?

 

 

 

 

What is a watershed?

 

 

 

Is there one near you? (tell me about it)

 

 

What is groundwater?

 

 

What is “ stormwater" ?

 

 

Where does the water go that flows into your street drains?

 

What happens to the water that you pour into your sink?

 

What happens to the water that you wash your car with outside?

 

Where does your drinking water come from (describe its path to you)?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

147

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

Where do phosphates come from?

 

 

 

What do phosphates in the river cause?

 

 

 

Why is dissolved oxygen in the river important?

 

 

 

 

Why is the temperature of the river important in terms of dissolved oxygen?

 

 

Why is it helpful to do a habitat assessment of the area around the river when trying to
determine the health of the river?

 

 

 

 

 

Why must we be oonoemed about soil erosion (when considering the health of the river)?

 

 

 

 

 

How can you Ieam about the quality of water in a river by looking at the macroinvertebrates
(critters) that live in the river?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why do we check the pH of the river?

 

 

 

 

Make a comparison of the two rivers that we visited (be specific and give me some details).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Name five things that everyday citizens can do to improve the quality of our Flint River:
1.

2.

3.

9" :5

148

APPENDIX N

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS
WRITTEN BY STUDENTS

149

PSA One:

Person one: For over four years
Person two interjects: TRY FORTY!!
Person one continues: people have been polluting the Flint River, dumping
trash
and chemicals into the river and our street sewers, as
well as wasting water!
All three people: but WE have a plan, “The Solution to Pollution!”
Person two: Our opponent, Pollution, is caused by improper
disposal of chemicals, overfertilization, not picking
up after our pets, and allowing bare spots on our

lawns!

Person three: Our opponent can be overthrown! By properly
disposing of oil, chemicals and household cleaners,
fertilizing after it rains, and putting our trash in the

proper place!

Person one: Make the right choice...the Flint River can’t afford
forty more years of pollution!

All three people: We are the Magnet Biology students from Flint

Northern and Flint Central High Schools and we

approve this message.

PSA Two: (a rap version)

Hi! The name is Fred T. Watershed

I’m here to put knowledge in your head.
Whatever you put on the ground

goes straight to the river in our town.
Storm sewer water goes to our river unseen

That’s why our river looks unclean.
So throw your trash in the garbage can

Instead of throwing it on the land
Stop pouring waste in the sewer -

and soon our river can look much newer.
Lake Huron picks up the Flint River

that soon becomes your drinking water at dinner!

This public service announcement is brought to you by the Magnet Biology
students at Flint Northern High School.

150

PSA Three:

Neighbor A: Don’t you know you have motor oil, antifreeze and car
wax running down your driveway into the sewer?

Neighbor B: I’m gonna get that car fixed next month and I had to wash my
car for my daughter’s dance.

Neighbor A: What about the dog waste on your lawn?
Neighbor B: I haven’t gotten around to throwing that in the sewer yet.

Announcer: Everyday trash, fertilizer, antifreeze, motor oil, canrvash soap and
other toxic waste are entering our street sewers and going
straight
to the Flint River! These things are affecting our river harshly,
damaging the aquatic life living there. And remember, the Flint

River eventually drains into Lake Huron, so what you put on the
ground can end up in YOUR drinking water!

This message is brought to you by the Magnet Biology students at Flint
Northern High School.

PSA Four:

What’s happening Flint-town? We’re your girls coming from the Magnet
Biology class at Flint Northern High School. We’re here to talk to you about
the Flint River. We’ve tested the water and our results show that the river is
in trouble!

Here are some easy ways that you can help prevent the pollution of our
river:
0 Wash your car on the lawn so the phosphates won’t run off into
the river.
Pick up after your pet or bury the waste.
Put your trash in the garbage so it doesn’t end up in the river
Don’t use heavy fertilizer and don’t fertilize if rain is predicted

Don’t put anything in the street drains because everything goes
straight to the river!!!

Do you like to drink water? Remember that the Flint River eventually
drains into Lake Huron, the main source of our drinking water.

So help our river and our city by not polluting! The river can get better if
we do our part!!

151

PSA Five:

Hello! We’re from the Magnet Biology class at Flint Northern High
School here to talk to you about the problem of Flint River water
pollution. You may not know that the Flint River eventually runs into
Lake Huron, the main source of our drinking water. If it wasn’t for the
water treatment plant, let us tell you what you would be drinking:
fertilizer, toxic chemicals, animal waste and anything else that goes
down our street drains straight to the river!

Take our advice: even if you don’t care about the water critters,
do it for YOUR health! Don’t use fertilizer if rain is due, wash your car
on the grass to keep phosphates out of the river, and don’t dump
chemicals or oil in the street drains. And remember! we have trash
cans...use theml!

PSA Six:

Person one: Did you know that our Flint River eventually drains into
Lake Huron, the source of our drinking water?

Person two: Oh no, now that’s nasty!

(music beat comes on here)

All: We’re the Flint Northern High School water crew here to
bring a message straight to you (echo, echo)

Person 3: Our clean water availability is getting lower and lower but
there are a few simple things that you can do to keep our
river up to par.

Person 4: Sweep your driveway off into the grass instead of hosing
the dirt into the street where it will end up in the river.

Person 1: Be sure to buy and use environmentally friendly products

Person 2: Don’t pour anything down the street sewer — these drain
straight into our river!!

Person 3: Pick up after your pets!

ALL: We are the Flint Northern High School water crew and
we approve this message!!

152

APPENDIX 0
STUDENT BROCHURES

153

What can we do?

0 Do not allow soil, leaves or grass
clippings to accumulate on your
driveway, sidewalk, or in the street.

0 Do not use the storm sewers for
disposing of motor oil, antifreeze,
pesticides, paints, solvents, or other
materials.

0 Sweep (do not wash) fertilizer and
soil off driveways and walkways on 19
flE LCM!-

- Minimize your use of salt on sidewalks
and driveways.

. Dispose of pet wastes by flushing
them down the toilet or burying them.

0 Use a commercial car wash or wash
your car on a lawn. The grass loves
phosphates! Also check your car for
fluid leaks.

 

Fig. 3a. Inside Flap of Brochure

Ll

Our b!
being!
just lr
waste:
we do:
(well r"
.we lit:
It has
do th"
house:
river If
Chang:
will cr
wateh
into ti
end?2
connr
whicle
Huros
drinln

W00!
drini.
othq
This he
bra

N

Flgo

Figure 3. Student Brochure One: T:;
in Magnet Biology Sectiom

154

Summary

iful Flint River is
nminated. No, not
,nething like factory
5 us, also. Of course,
ithout realizing it
lot the time). When
it goes into our river.
I: also when we don't
ale things around the
yard to help keep the
1. If we don't help

 

is process, pollution Did You Know:

ue to run-off into our

hich eventually go . We are the reason the Flint
lint River. Is that the River is the way it is.

{The River flows on o The Flint River drains into Lake

Huron, which is the key source of
our drink water.

0 Everything on the ground
eventually ends up in the river.

3 into other rivers,
mrn flow into Lake
ass what...that's our
gated!!! Question:

you want to For more information
pxic waste and KEEP READINé.’
”PCS Of ‘l'f'ClSl‘l? Flg.3c. Front of Brochure

It was written “designed
:9 Biology Students at
brfhern High School

Back of Brochure

jfold brochure was written and dedgned by the students
:eggm took part in this study
at

 

What is a Watershed?

You may wonder, "What is a
watershed”? A watershed is an area of
land that drains water from
precipitation and ground water into a
body of water, such as a lake, river, or
stream.

Watersheds can differ in size. Our
watershed is the Flint River
Watershed, which covers 1,332 Square
miles of land that lie in Genesee,
Lapeer, Oakland, Shiwasee, Saginaw,
and small parts of Sanilac and Tuscola
counties.

The main part of the river is about 142
miles long and is fed by many creeks
including Gilkey, Kearsley, and Swartz
Creeks in our city.

 

155

What is Run—off?

Run-off is the rain and melting
snow that runs off streets,
rooftops, and lawns into our
street sewer drains. The flowing
water carries salt, sand, soil,
pesticides, fertilizers, leaves, and
grass clippings, oil, litter, and
many other pollutants into our
river.

Since these pollutants are washed
away off a wide area and cannot
be traced to a single source, they
are called non—point source or
runoff pollutants. Point source
pollutants would be those coming
from the street sewers and pipes.

Runoff from the impervious
(water can’t soak in) surfaces at a
typical high school, for example,
could be thousands of gallons of
water in a month that will end up
in the river.

Imagine what goes
with it."

Fig. 3d. Inside of Opened Brochure

What is Pollution?

Pollution is anything and everything we
put on the ground that runs into lakes,
rivers, streams, and eventually our
drinking water. Things like:

Sediments (soil particles eroded
from yards, construction sites, and
stream banks, can cloud the water and
make it hard for fish, aquatic plants
and animals to breathe, feed and see.)

Sediments also increase flooding
problems by making streams
shallower.

Nutrients such as nitrates and
phosphates (when they come from
manure, pet wastes, fertilizer, and
detergents) in the water can make
algae bloom. When the algae dies, it
sinks to the bottom and uses a
process that removes oxygen from
the water. Without oxygen, living
organisms will die and decompose.

o Debris, which is most common, can

choke and kill the animals.

Pollution is something we
do and can be fixed!

 

 

 

Fig. 4a. Back of Brochure

‘ 3 / a I n y. .

, Don't Litter

— Don't Put Anything

Down Storm Drains

Uwrhosphao—im 7????????????????
Soaps/Detergents

' Recycle

— P‘ K U Aft P t

- Vilgsh YPour eCrar 2: the (arass WHY DRINfi
(grass loves phosphates,

b a ' . .,
— DonlltPlil‘t/elgziunmlii'hn Fertilizer ill. W A G E
if Rain is Predicted
WHEN 10.11
spleen/M. mums tog
-Fishlng Tackle Grab Bag (waders) CAN PREVENT

-Hiei<s Archery and Tackle (waders)

t

 

 

 

—Mei]ers (waders)

—Mrs. (lean Williams (waders)

_GENL— UT’, LMU (waders fir transportation) IT FROM
~6eauchamp's Ace Hardware _—

—Lewis Driskell, Union l’rlnting (printing)

-Schaefer's Complete Office Source

—fiart 6: Shelley Irones — Metamora E B
(for generously allowing us to use their VER EING
property for testing the river)

Jarrett Tromble1 — UM-Flini (equipment,
ehaperoae, and unending support)

-Anne Taylor ~ UNI—Flint (ehaperone) A P OBLEM ?

Jennie Farah - Varent Lhaperone

-l<aren Dutil ~ F'arent Lhaperone

John Campbell — Varent Lhaperone

—Mr. and: Eel! - Principal, Northern High School ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

 

Fig. 4b. Front of Brochure

This pamphlet was written and designed
by Magnet 6iolog1 Students at Flint
Northern High School

156

 

 

157

 

 

 

>This is \9 3
Flint Rive! \,
look like
for pollui

/

i;’
,l

"llbl"\ OH

44
*-———~r

h L“ -~ u Fig. 4c. Inside of Brochure (folded in)

 

 

111;“ _ gt . .. i This is what.
’ ‘ ; thanks to peat:

.‘ the pollution:
Lake Huronii
lake Hurt

q
r'

-u
~
‘9-
a
\.
abs.
Q.

 

 

 

 

158

Fig. 4d. Inside of Opened Brochure

   
     
    
 
  
 

 

. 1
.ie Flint River looks like now
-. polluting. Did you know that
tom the Flint River runs into
:id you know the water from
is the water Flint Drinks?

.+ ill!

Want to >
help? >
"(See Back. >

a.

\..

.“ '\_
\xx \‘ ~.

     

APPENDIX P

POST UNIT STUDENT SURVEY

159

THE EFFECTS OF HUMAN ACTIVITY AND URBANIZATION ON THE

RIVER
POST-UNIT STUDENT SURVEY

Your opinion is important to me. I would like for you to take this survey to let
me know if you feel that this unit of study was valuable to you. Please take a
moment to reflect on your experiences during this study and tell me what you
think. I’ve appreciated all of your hard work and hope that you have taken
some important knowledge with you as well as having fun! It isn’t necessary
for you to put your name on this paper. Thanks!

1.
2.

Did you learn things about the Flint River that you never knew?
Please tell me THREE things that you learned during this study:
1.
2.
3.

Did your opinion of the river in general change during this study?
If you answered yes, how did it change?

Do you think that humans have an impact on the river?
If you answered yes, please explain what kind of impact we have:

Do you think we could make a difference in the quality of the river?
If you answered yes, please explain how:

Do you think your new knowledge will make a difference in how you do
things? (Be honest!!!) if you answered yes, please explain
what you will do differently:

160

7. Do you feel that any of the activities (including in the classroom,
outdoors on campus and at the river) helped you learn this material?

If you answered yes, please tell me about it:

8. What did you like best about this unit and why?

9. What did you like least about this unit and why? Be honest — I value
your opinion!

10. Do you find the knowledge that you gained to be personally valuable?

Why or why not?

DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NEXT TIME THAT I
CONDUCT THIS UNIT?

161

APPENDIX Q:

TABLE OF PRE- AND POST-UNIT TEST SCORES
PER TEST ITEM

162

PRE- AND POST-UNIT TEST SCORES PER TEST ITEM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

% °/o %
Test Question Correct Correct Gain
# Pro-Test Post In
Test Score

1 Describe pollution and use examples 91 98 7
2 Where does river pollution come from? 68 100 32
3 How does it becomejollution? 55 93 38
4 Name a polluted site 73 98 25
5 What affect does pollution have? 64 100 36
6 Does it affect you? How? 50 100 50
7 Do you pollute? How? 52 100 48
8 What is a watershed? 14 64 50
9 Is there one near you? 36 70 34
10 What is groundwater? 7O 84 14
1 1 What is stormwater? 4 32 18
12 Where does the water go that flows into 11 43 73

your street drain?
13 What happens to the water that you 17 23 1 3

pour into your sink?
14 What happens to the water that you 7 43 82

wash your car with outside?
15 Where does your drinking water come 3 28 57

 

from?

 

 

 

 

Table 3. Pre- and Post-Test Unit Scores per Test Item

163

 

APPENDIX R

PAIRED T-TEST RESULTS OF PRE- AND POST-UNIT TEST

164

PAIRED T-TEST RESULTS OF PRE- AND POST-UNIT TEST
Table shows the results of the paired t—test that was applied to the scores of the pre-
and post-unit test given to students conducting the river study. All but three of the
questions had a probability of less than 0. 05, indicating that the null hypothesis
could be rejected for 12 of the 15 questions, as well as for the overall test scores.

n = 44
degrees of freedom = 43
critical value = 2.021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST QUESTION t - VALUE PROBABILITY REJECT Ho
NUMBER (p)
1 1.77 0.083 No
2 4.25 0.000 Yes
3 4.77 0.000 Yes
4 3.40 0.001 Yes
5 4.96 0.000 Yes
6 6.56 0.000 Yes
7 6.27 0.000 * Yes
8 5.62 0.000 Yes
9 3.98 0.000 Yes
10 1.96 0.057 No
1 1 8.67 0.000 Yes
12 10.7 0.000 Yes
13 1.43 0.160 No
14 13.9 0.000 Yes
15 7.52 0.000 Yes
OVERALL TOTAL 7.34 0.000 Yes
(d.f. = 14) (c.v. = 2.145)

Table 4. Paired T-test results of pre- and post-unit assessment.

165

APPENDIX S

COPYRIGHT PERMISSIONS

166

mom I WONG DEW

PEARSONEDUCATION
l.:‘.|liill‘" . - _orilunmm
{zimlii mmmmmw
m: mum

l‘l, \IHLM.‘

 

Agreement for Permission to Reproduce Contract No. 6272

Permission to granted for use of Pearson Education material from MMMQMMHM “Work") to be
reproduced by W according to the following specifications:

Master that title: The Enact: of Urbanization and Human Acti_vity on the Flint River
Bound date: Summer 2005

Pages to be copied: QValuel mph: on pg: 44, 57, 75, 107, 117I 129I 141)I and 156

 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

 

.—

Feo: Gram.
This license dated as of June 20, 2004 is non-exclusive and for educational use only in the Enlgish language in the United
States

3"

3. Mpg-mission agroernentjsforn one-tinieuse _only.

. The oopyrightnoticewill be printed on all copies ofthc Work. Theoredit line willrcad:
From River: Curriculum Guide am 0 1995 by South Illinois University. Published by Pearson Education, he;
plblhhing u Dale Seymour Publication. an imprint of Pearson Learning Group. Used by permhsion.

5. Nochangcs mtobemade tothe Workwithoinprior'wrlttcnmbmissionto Pearson Education.

6. 'I‘hispermissiondocanotapplytotbirdpmyuiatcflali‘rornanyothersomce,whichmaybefotmdintheWork.

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8. This Agreement will terminate without notice ifany ofthc terms listed herein are violated and/or upon expiration

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6/20/‘2005(rcvised)

 

 
 

'c Cook
emissions Editor

7I35 ada
Flint, MI 48543 (20l) 236-6716

bat-i: 5’95’05‘

ISBN: 0201493675

 

167

Sub]: RE: Riverwatch Training Manual
Date: 71872004 12:21 :37 PM Eastern Standard Time

From: ' ier d .i . ov
To: 3129mm
Hi, Debra!

You have or: permission to use those materials with appropriate credit
givenl Thank you for asking and good luck with your thesis! Let us know
how everything turns out! '

Jan Hosier

Hoosier Riverwatch
Volunteer/Outreach Coordinator
Natural Resources Education Center
Fort Harrison State Park

5785 Glenn Rd

Indianapolis, lN 46216-1066
317-541-061 7

riverwatchingov

——Original Message-—

From: Biogeek53@aol.com [mailiozBiogeek53@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 7:48 AM

To: riverinfo@dnr.state.in.us

Subject: Riverwatch Training Manual

‘ Hello-

I am. a high school biology teacher and I am currently creating a unit for
my classes on rivers. I would like to use some of the training manual in my
class and am requesting your permission to reprint them. Specifically,

1. Taxonomic Key to Benthic Macroinvertebrates

.2. Ch. 2 identifying your watershed illustrations fig.2 & 3

3. Citizens Qualitatie Habitat Evaluation Index

4. Guide for Water Quality Ranges

5. Habitat Parameters for Selected Macroinvertebrates

6. Q-Value graphs

7. Fig. 10 on page 48 (pH scale)

8. Fig. 12 on page 55 (Eutrophication)

9. Biological Monitoring Data Sheet

10.’ Page 78-88 Detail on macroinvertebrates by pollution tolerance

Obviously if you are kind enough to let me use these goat materials, I will
give complete credit to Hoosier Riverwatch.

lam presently working on my master's degree and this unit will be part of
my master's work. Because of this, I will be expected to include the above
in the appendix of my thesis (as part of my classroom unit) and would like
permission to do that, as well. Again, full credit will be given to you

Thursday, July 08, 2004 America Online: Biogeek53

168

litPaunisslon
3:5: _"7:l:gyl2'tli'0411:11:51AMEaaternStandardTIne
gram: WW
0: WM

Goodmoming...y0u havebeengrantedpermissiontousethematerialirom
the Healthy Water, Healthy People Educators Guide for your masters thesis
Allcopyrightprovisionsappiy.WETmustbecitedateachusesiteand
add'essesprovidedtorcontact. Pleasedon‘thesitetetocontactmelyou
havequestionsordeekeadditionals‘lionnationGoodluckll

Linda Hveem

Assistant to the Executive Director

The Watercousellnternatimal Project WET
201 Culbertson Hall

Montana State University

Bozeman, MT 59717-0575

408-994-1916

169

Sub]: Permission request
Date: 803/2005 1 :5128 PM. Eastern Daytght 11me

From: More
Ta: Wager

Hi, Debbie—
Thank you tor your pemiaaion request.

NSTA Press grants you penrisslon to reprint in its entirety pages 102-103 (Aquatic Chenistry Reference Sheet)
from Watershed Dynamics publshed by NSTA Press copyrighted 2004 in your master's thesis.

Please let me know it you have any questions.

Cordially,
Robin

 

Robin Alan

Book Acquiaklons Coordhator, NSTA Press ,
National Science Teachers Association

1840 Wleon Bailevard

Arlington, VA 22201

Telephone: 703-312-fl38

Fax: 703-528-0754

Ernal: rallanGnstamg

W

Thursday, June 23, 2005 America Online: Biogeek53

170

Re: Reprint Permission Page 1 of 1

Sub]: Re: Reprint Permission
Date: 8/1372005 3:30:35 PM. Eastern Daylght Time
From: Minimums -

To: , 09 0|
on 8713/05 11:42 AM, Biogeeksaaaolcom at Biogeeksagaolcom wrote:

Hellol

liustspokewlthycu regarding permissionto reprintan article in my rnester'atheaiswhich I wil be
submitting this month. The article is entitled "The Tragedy s Triumph of Mlnsmata" (Douglas
Allchin) published in the June 1999 issue of The American Biology Teacher (Volume 81, No. 8). i
used the article in a river study unit in my high school biology class and would like to include a copy
as an appendix to my thesis. I appreciate your hehl.
Thanks so muchl

Deb Bassett
Flnt Northern High School
Flnt, Michigan

My home address is:
7135 Granada Lane
Flnt, Ml 48532

Phone: (810) 830-0044

Hi Dab.

NABT is happy to grant you permission to reprint 'The Tragedy 8- Triumph of Minarnata" by Douglas Allchin
(publshed in the June 1009 issue at The American Biology Teacher) in your master's thesis. Please be sure to let
the article and author as you have above and give credit to NABT as the publisher.

Also, i wanted you to know that I spoke toour Execulve Director, Dr. Wayne Carley. It you would be able to ’
volunteer 4 hours of your time to help us at the Milwaukee Convention, NABT will waive your registration too.

Best of luck with your thesis.
Sincerely,
Cheryl S. Merrill

Director of Publications
NABT

171

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Geography Curriculum Activities Kit: Ready-to-Use Lessons and Skillsbeets for Grades 5.12 by James F. Silver
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APPENDIX T:

UCRIHS APPROVAL FOR STUDY

173

MICHIGAN STATE

UNIVERSITY

 

August 5. 2004
TO: Marie HEIDEMANN
. 118 North Kedzie Hail
MSU

RE: IRBI 04-586 CATEGORY: EXEMPT 1-1. 2-6

APPROVAL DATE: August 5. 2004
EXPIRATION DATEAugust s. zoos

TITLE: The Effects of Urbanization and Human Activity on the Flint River. A'
Comparative Study '

The University Committee on Research Involving Human Sublects‘ (UCRIHS) review of this

prolectbcompleteandlampiemedbadvisematdnngiusandwdfareofmeMman

wbledsappeambeadequateiyproteaedandmemodstowtamwonnedmare

appropriate. Therefore. the UCRIHS epproved'thie project.

RENEWALS: UCRIHS approval is valid until the expiration date listed above. Projects
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174