Grant will allow students to watch Neuse River
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on December 28, 2014 1:50 AM
Environmental biology, by its very nature, is not a subject that should be taught in a classroom, Leah Connell said.
"I take (students) out of the class a lot -- how are you going to teach them in a lab?" the Wayne Community College professor said.
Field trips are a staple each semester, with her accompanying groups to such local sites as Cliffs of the Neuse, farms and the wastewater treatment plant.
And, of course, the Neuse River.
The program provides students with hands-on knowledge about water quality, along with a practical application premise.
"We have them ask questions -- how does this affect water quality? How does this affect me on down the line? Do I really need to wash just this one pair of jeans?" she said.
Mrs. Connell was recently notified that the students will receive yet another opportunity to receive training and equipment to monitor weekly water quality conditions in several segments along the Neuse River.
A nearly $100,000 grant from the State Farm Youth Advisory Board was awarded to "Love A Sea Turtle" and the "River Guardian Foundation" to expand the science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM-focused water conservation practices and practical environmental service learning experience to students attending schools in the Neuse River Basin.
"I think it was ... a total of five counties -- Lenoir, Pitt, Greene, Wake, Johnston and us," Mrs. Connell said. "WCC is the only college involved in the grant."
The college, along with middle and high schools, were chosen to receive water quality treatment materials for the project.
The digital equipment will provide a snapshot of changes in the river, providing data and information that will be given to the Neuse River Guardians and state Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
"DENR does their own testing and the river keepers do their own testing, but we're including more sites so there will be an overall big picture," she said.
Recipients will also do a recycling audit at their respective schools and involve others in the nationwide conservation effort, the 40-Gallon Water Challenge. As part of the grant, each school is also required to do a river cleanup.
The WCC students already completed a cleanup project at Waynesborough Park last semester, Mrs. Connell said, and likely will return and continue the data-gathering process.
In the spring, all the schools involved will gather for a symposium in Greenville to share their findings, meet scientists from East Carolina University and around the state, and participate in recreational water activities.
Since WCC is the only college represented, Mrs. Connell said this will give students an opportunity to represent the college and serve as role models for younger students.
The elective class has already proven to be eye-opening for her own students, she said.
"At the end of the semester, I always hear somebody say, 'We didn't know' that the situation was what it was," she said. "It was always an eye-opener. They learn a lot. Not all of the students come out of it going, 'OK, I need to change my ways,' but I bet you all of them do things a little bit differently."