Water testing activity brings LCHS, Oakland students together
 Environmental Science students teamed up with fourth and fifth grade students from neighboring Oakland Elementary School earlier this week to complete a water quality activity using the pond on the LCHS grounds.
The high school students took on the role of teacher for the day, using the skills and the knowledge they learned from their own water quality unit a few weeks ago to help the younger students. The activity was coordinated by LCHS teacher Amanda LeBrun and Oakland teacher Jeff Smith.
"The younger students really seemed to enjoy the experience of using some basic as well as more advanced technology and loved being outside participating in an authentic hands-on lab experiment," said LeBrun.
In small groups led by a teacher or a high school student, the students tested the pond for temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, and nitrates. They also discussed what would be considered "bad" conditions for the pond; for example, low pH levels indicate high acidity, low oxygen levels might be harmful to the fish, and high levels of phosphates and nitrates can lead to too much algae in the water. The approximately 250 Oakland students who participated will use the test results to assess the health and quality of the pond. |
