For the past two weeks we have had the pleasure of working with a group of high energy, enthusiastic, enviromaniacs from the Barnes School. We have been learning about the Winooski River watershed and how we interact with the entire water cycle here in Burlington. Other topics we have covered include: the three states of water (solids, liquids, and gasses), how pollution affects each state and what we can do to help clean and protect they fragile ecosystems with in the watersheds.
As the spring program continues we are exploring water chemistry and testing Lake Champlain water quality on shore and out in the middle of the lake. We are conducting multiple tests to determine the levels of dissolved oxygen, pH, phosphates, nitrogen, temperature, and coliform bacteria in the lake. We hope to further our understanding of how our everyday activities have a direct impact on the waters around us and how the lake responds to our use of its resource. We are all very excited and are eager to continue exploring the great resource of Lake Champlain and will finish our program with a lesson about human impact and the lake. Each day is a success as we are able to see the connections that local students are able to make with their natural environment.
