The 2015-2016 school year is off to a great start, but before we launch into our new year, I wanted to share some of the highlights from last year’s EarthTeam internship at Pinole Valley High School.
12 students collected data weekly about water quality in Pinole Creek. In addition to measuring temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and pH, students utilized Instagram, a popular photo sharing app to collect data about litter in and around Pinole Creek.
PVHS EarthTeam interns also participated in various activities to supplement the knowledge they already had about the natural world. Topics for these activities included: how to identify plants, how to estimate the volume of water moving through a creek channel, how to express large numbers using known contemporaries, how to measure a creek bank, and many more. Students used those skills to collect additional data about biological activity in the creek and communicated the information gathered to other Earthteam interns, community members participating in creek cleanup days, and to the greater Pinole Community through a six-panel brochure available at the Pinole Library.
“I believe that zerolitter and monitoring the creek allowed me to be aware of the litter and pollutants present in my community. In addition, the activities and lectures gave me the opportunities to explore different careers and meet new people passionate about saving the environment.” – Songnhi T., Pinole Valley High School, Class of 2016
A big thanks to Desiree I, Diana V, Pete S, Diana S, Danae B, Thomas T, Andrew N, Songnhi T, Aroog G, Julie H, Nicole D, and Nhi C, for their excellent work in the 2014-2015 school year.