Students immersed themselves in the subject matter of the Advanced Global Applications in Environmental Science course this year—literally. As part of their study, girls waded into the campus' Booze Creek throughout the year and collected samples to evaluate water quality using a variety of tests. The project, like other hands-on components of the course, helped students develop strong scientific skills, as well as a strong understanding of classroom concepts.
While rethinking the class as it shifted from AP Environmental Science to Advanced Global Applications in Environmental Science this year, teacher Patty Carver wanted to integrate more tangible, real-world applications and discussions into the course. She thought the creek would be a perfect addition because of its proximity to the school and many connections to the course's key themes and topics. The waterway drains a significant swath of highly developed land in central Montgomery County before flowing into the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, the Potomac River, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay. Carver thought that by using the same water-quality tests that professional scientists use, students might be able to feel first-hand the impact of factors like pollution and environmental regulation.
At the final sampling of the year earlier this month, one student group remarked that the creek had helped them really see, with their own eyes, all sorts of phenomena—like how much water quality changes seasonally. They saw these shifts both visually and in their data, which measured factors like pH, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen using highly technical probes.
Things didn't always go right with the technology, Carver and the students admit; but the teacher explains that this is an important part of the scientific process as well. "It takes time to become an expert on this kind of technical equipment," Carver says. "And you learn so much more from your mistakes than you do if everything goes beautifully."
Lily Schmandt '19 says she really enjoyed the Booze Creek project, particularly because it gave her the opportunity to "see a piece of what real scientists are doing."
Alongside the creek sampling and final reports on findings, the course also gave students chances to wrestle with environmental issues unfolding in current headlines; to prepare and deliver an in-class TED Talk on an endangered species; to write a research paper, create infographics, and record a podcast on population demographics; to draft a letter to Congress in support of or against the Green New Deal; to explore plastic's impact on wildlife and humans' dependence on it while taking the Plastic-Free Challenge for a week; and so much more.
"We have been developing skills that are really important for real-life applications...and how to approach problems from different perspectives all year," Lily says.
"I'm so happy I took this class," says Delaney Bond '19. "I just genuinely enjoyed learning all our material because Ms. Carver makes it fun and we get to do such interesting things." Because of the class, she adds, "I've become more aware of what is going on in the environment. I've become more passionate about it...and more aware of my actions."
