Is This a Healthy Body of Water?

Transcription

1 Overview This is a field based activity to collect data and samples from three different urban bodies of water. As students perform tests on the water samples in the field, they will make connections about what determines the health of an urban body of water. What makes this lesson unique is that students will not simply think about water health in an ecological context, but will consider what healthy means as it relates to the role this body of water plays in their city. Objectives 1. Students will collect and analyze data on field trips to compare water quality across the city. 2. Students will make connections between classroom learning, field observations and tests of three different urban bodies of water. 3. Students will draw conclusions on how the health of these water bodies affects the city in a variety of ways. Natural Cities Lesson 3 Is This a Healthy Body of Water? By Susannah Ceraldi with Annesia Lamb and Suzie Stempel GK-12 Fellows; Brooklyn College, City as a Lab GK-12 Program SUBJECTS Environmental Science Urban Ecology Materials and Resources *If your school does not have all of these materials and equipment, consider the following: 1. Discuss with your administrative team prior to the school year the ongoing value of these materials as they allow students to gain authentic field science skills and support national science standards. Water 2. Explore partnerships with local colleges and universities that may be willing to lend out these materials. 3. Form partnerships with local water protection agencies or environmental organizations that may be able to work with you in the field with these materials. 4. Explore grant opportunities for purchasing classroom equipment. (see the Resource section of this anthology for a list of grant opportunities) Urban Ecology Field Data Sheet Thermometers Secchi disk Hydrometer Coliform bacteria test kit ph test kit Dissolved oxygen test kit Glossary Terms: Watershed Impermeable Estuary Brackish Water Combined Sewage Overflow ph Dissolved Oxygen Salinity Coliform Bacteria Turbidity 27

2 Nitrate test kit Phosphorous test kit Plankton net Petri dishes Large magnifying glass Marine field guide Wildlife field guide Cloud field guide 3-5 adults (!) ID books for plankton and macroinvertebrates (optional but helpful) Setting Classroom and three different field locations with access to a water body. Time Needed At least 2-3 Days. Adjust as needed. Background Information This lesson is a synthesis of each lesson in a water quality unit, and more importantly, it brings the students out of the simulated estuary system of the classroom aquarium and into the actual environment of the city. Kinesthetic learning takes place at the field locations as the students take in their surroundings and study each water body. Hopefully, experiences like viewing the immensity of an ocean or lake, the oil slicks on the water or the jellyfish the students catch in the plankton net will create a continued connection to the city s watershed and transfer the sense of ownership they feel to their city s natural system of waterways. Urban Relevance There is a natural tendency in cities to forget about the connections to a larger global community. Many city-dwellers may never leave the city and may take for granted that all of their needs are met. Large bodies of water, particularly those that connect to the ocean, are a wonderful reminder of a global context. Even if people are lucky enough to see these water bodies in their day-to-day lives, it is easy to not think about them as they become part of the daily landscape. Estuaries, lakes and rivers continue to play a vital role in a city s economy, ecology and culture. This project allows students to really get connected to water in their city in a meaningful and authentic way. Procedure Travel to the field sites where there is access to an urban body of water (in the case of this lesson, Newtown Creek, Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Be sure to find three sites in your city that are accessible and safe). 28

3 2. Upon arrival, explain the safety precautions to students: a) Wear gloves at all times when handling water samples and organisms. b) Avoid touching your face if you have been touching water samples or organisms from water. c) Remember that you are handling living organisms. Handle them gently and respectfully. d) Notify your teacher immediately if you are unsure of how to handle an organism or piece of equipment. 3. Have students break up into five groups and set up equipment for each testing station. 4. Instruct students to spend ten minutes at each station conducting appropriate tests and collecting water samples. (Each group is led by an adult.) *Instructions for carrying out tests appear on the test kits. Be sure to read through these instructions before going into the field. It is important that an adult oversees the explanation of these instructions but does not read or lead for the students. 5. Give students a chance to at least turn over a few rocks to look for macroinvertebrates (a teacher could do this to avoid too much disturbance to the stream bed and avoid students being startled by some of the insects like Odonata larva). Macroinvertebrates are a key measure of stream health, and while having students ID them may be impractical, having teachers look for a few indicator species would help make the results more meaningful. See for an example of a commonly used monitoring system. That would be too complex for this setting, but the importance of macroinvertebrates in gauging stream health should be discussed. 6. Rotate groups five times until everyone has visited all of the testing stations. 7. Come back together to go over findings as a large group. 8. Wrap up. Review what took place at each station. Ask students to give feedback about their findings and ask any questions they may have. Conservation Extensions A. Compare the results to a relatively pristine stream (to make students aware of the conservation challenges), and highlight how much wildlife almost certainly will be present even in the urban body of water. Try to strike a balance between marveling that even in a city an abundance of wildlife can be found and recognizing that the urban water is missing some amazing species (and ecosystem functions). B. Discuss how urban streams have come to be degraded (including some of the typical major stressors) and what can be done to improve stream quality. For example, students could discuss changes seen as some urban streams have been daylighted (un-buried), as restoration along stream banks has proceeded or as dredging has been halted or modified. This would help make it clear that most of the changes are reversible through conservation actions. 29

4 Dan Strauss/The Nature Conservancy C. Explain that fish and especially filter feeders like oysters can be unsafe to eat (especially for pregnant women) even if the water is reasonably safe. The gradient from safe for fish to safe for humans to eat and safe for humans to drink will likely be of interest to the students. Water bodies in urban areas are becoming cleaner and home to more wildlife. Assessment Students must turn in Field Data Sheet with the following questions answered: 1. Describe how the species found in the three water bodies serve as indicators of the overall health of this water body. Include a section here about the importance of macroinvertebrates in measuring stream health. Plankton and water quality are important, too (and easier to directly measure), but you should at least learn about why macroinvertebrates matter and be able to see a few examples. 2. Did the amount of wildlife you observed differ from your expectations? What do you think is the reason for this? 3. How do you think weather conditions affect water quality? In addition to the obvious (more rain means more dilution of existing pollutants, but also more runoff from urban surfaces), mention the connection between temperature and oxygen. On hot days, dissolved oxygen can be too low for fish (leaving them more vulnerable to other stresses). 4. In reviewing your results from all stations, describe in detail why this body of water is or is not ecologically healthy. Does the level of ecological health impact things such as industry, commerce and recreation? How, specifically? Final Product: Students must complete a comparative analysis of which of the three bodies of water is the healthiest and why, focusing particularly on what is meant by healthy. Does this refer to ecological health or healthy in terms of industry, recreation, etc.? Students will write a rough draft of this analysis at the end of their field data sheet, but their final product will be a full 5 page report on this topic in which they include the following: 30

5 A. INTRODUCTION: 30 Pts. What was the purpose of this study, including the importance of these bodies of water in the context of their city? How was the study carried out? What were the tools used? B. FINDINGS: 40 Pts. Presentation of data. Graphs to represent data. Diagrams of organisms found. C. CONCLUSIONS: 30 Pts. What does this data tell us about the overall health of these urban bodies of water? In what ways do these findings provide us with information that can apply to the variety of functions these water bodies have in our city? How can the community and city play a role in continuing efforts to further clean and restore these water bodies to levels close to a pristine stream? What are your suggested plans of action? 31

6 Urban Ecology Field Data Sheet Name: Location: Date: Basic Water Quality Station Follow the instructions on each test kit. Record your results and conclusions here. Test Result Conclusions: This water is (circle one for each test) Temperature Warm Cold Turbidity Clear Fair Cloudy Salinity Marine Brackish Fresh Coli. Bacteria Safe for: Boating Fishing Swimming Drinking Chemical Analysis Water Quality Station: Follow the instructions on each test kit. Record your results and conclusions here. Test Result Conclusions: This water is (circle one for each test) ph Acidic Neutral Basic D.O. Oxic Fair Anoxic Nitrogen Depleted Adequate Excess (Nitrogen) Phosphorous Depleted Adequate Excess (Phosphorous) Coli. Bacteria Safe for: Boating Fishing Swimming Drinking Plankton Station : Use the plankton net to gather water into a dish. Use a magnifying glass or microscope to look for plankton. Use the field guide to determine what species you have found. Draw what you see here: What species have you found? Are these species indicators of healthy or unhealthy water? Why or why not? 32

7 Wildlife Station: Use the binoculars to search for wildlife. Use the field guide to identify what you have found. List and draw ONE ANIMAL SPECIES and ONE PLANT SPECIES you have found here. (1) Animal Species: (2) Plant Species: Animal Species Drawing Plant Species Drawing Did you observe more or less wildlife than you expected to see here? Why do you think that is? What is this animal s role (niche) in this aquatic ecosystem? What is this plant s role (niche) in this aquatic ecosystem? 33

8 Weather Observation Station: Use the thermometer and cloud guide to make observations. Record your results below: Air Temperature: Has it rained within the past 24 hours? Percent of sky covered by clouds Cloud types observed: Other notes about weather: Cloud Drawing Cloud Drawing How do you think weather conditions affect water quality? 34

9 Final Conclusion: Reviewing your results from all 5 stations, would you say that these water bodies are healthy? Why/Why not? What are the overall implications of your conclusion? How can the community play a role in making these water bodies healthier? 35

10 Urban Watershed Study Field Materials Checklist: Basic Water Quality Station q Thermometer q Secchi Disk or Turbidity Column q Hydrometer q Coliform Bacteria Kits q Buckets for water collection q Gloves Chemical Analysis Station q ph Kit q Dissolved Oxygen Kit q Phosphate Kit q Nitrate Kit q Buckets for water collection q Gloves Plankton Station q Plankton Net q Marine Field Guide q Large magnifying glasses Wildlife Station q Binoculars q Wildlife Field Guide Weather Observation Station q Thermometer q Wind Gauge q Cloud Chart 36

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12 S U B M I T T E D B Y SCIENCE AND MATH INSTITUTE Tacoma, Washington The Science and Math Institute is built around a particular vision: we believe that students make the most of their learning when they take ownership of their education when students intentionally choose to take on the challenge real learning entails. We further believe that this ownership most naturally develops within a learning community, encouraged by others who share that commitment. Our foundational commitments to community, empathy, thinking and balance shape our program. We want students to see their learning, their world and their lives as a whole. Thus, we seek to help students make connections within academic disciplines, between the sciences and the arts, between their lives now and their lives as they enter the larger global community. With this holistic vision firmly in mind, we also believe students deserve the opportunity to go deep to develop and pursue a particular passion at increasingly greater depth, guided by mentors in our community who can encourage excellence. A L E A F P A R T N E R S C H O O L