WESTPORT – Westport High School students in Dan Harrington’s Environmental Science class spent this fall in the field exploring Angeline and Kirby Brooks in Westport in partnership with the Westport River Watershed Alliance.
Through the Adopt-A-Watershed Program, which began in 1995, students discover the world of stream ecology and gain first-hand experience working on an ongoing scientific study. This fall, the students collected data on water chemistry, recorded physical characteristics of the streams, and collected aquatic life in order to measurethe water quality in the streams.
Students visited each stream and followed the same techniques that scientists use to investigate a waterway. Using chemical test kits, students measured the pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates and phosphates found in the water and learned to identify aquatic insects whose presence in the stream can be an indicator of clean water.
This program was a part of the Watershed Education Program. Each year students from PreK to High School learn about different aspects of their watershed. The Westport River Watershed Alliance provides the program as a compliment to the science curriculum each grade is covering for the year. It provides a hands-on way for students to not only learn science, but also about the habitats that are in their own backyards.