Water Quality Monitoring: Bringing Environmental Education to Local Schools

This project is a part of a long-term, continuing outreach and education program.  Over the last several years, Creekside Conservancy (formerly Heernett Environmental Foundation / HEF) has assisted the Chehalis Basin Education Consortium with their Water Quality Monitoring Program.

Hands-On Outdoor Learning

We would like to continue this effort with a focus in the Scatter Creek Watershed by setting up two permanent Environmental/Water Quality Monitoring Stations on our properties. One would be located in the headwaters of Scatter Creek, at the Sampson Bridge or Mill Pond, and the second in the main stem of Scatter Creek, close to the confluence with the Chehalis River, located on the Mills Property at RM 2.  

Once these two Environmental/Water Quality Monitoring stations are permanently established, and the sites are confirmed safe for local students to use, we would use two new complete water quality kits for students to perform tests and record data for analysis. The different tests performed are consistent with other ongoing water quality monitoring programs (e.g. Chehalis Basin Education Consortium) so that the data is compatible and useful in the basin. These tests will be: pH, Temperature, DO, Nitrates, Phosphates, and Turbidity.

Classroom Workshops

In addition to establishing the new monitoring sites, another component of this project was to conduct discussions and workshops both in and out of the classroom (Tenino and Rochester area schools and others in the Chehalis basin). For the last seven years, we have gone into the local schools and on field trips with students to discuss ethnobotany, ecology, and hydrology to kindergarten through 12th grade classes. These projects consist of environmental discussions selected by the teacher, structured activities, and/or tree planting projects. We coordinated with USFWS Fisheries Education biologist, Dan Spencer, to participate in classroom visits as well as field trips at these two field sites. Dan developed a Youth Fisheries Academy and various fisheries techniques education modules that complement the water quality testing and classroom visits.