Fairmont Students Get Their Feet Wet in Environmental Matters

By Debbie Juniewicz Contributing Writer

WASHINGTON TWP., Montgomery County — No chalkboards and desks for these Kettering Fairmont students — the creek was their classroom.

Collecting macroinvertebrates … performing pH tests … conducting a habitat evaluation … they weren’t just learning, they were doing.

Fifteen students from Rick Kappel’s environmental science class stepped out of the classroom and into the water at Holes Creek as part of the Earth Forth Global Rivers Environmental Education Network program May 13.

“There are things you can’t teach in the classroom, things you can’t learn until you get your feet dirty and get your hands wet,” Kappel said.

Getting wet was part of the fun, especially on a rare sunny spring day.

“Students are thrilled to leave the science classroom and get their hands wet,” said Sarah Hippensteel of the Miami Conservancy District. “They learn firsthand about the world they live in and the role each of us plays in protecting the environment for everyone.”

Fairmont junior Alex Molodyk, an exchange student from Russia, didn’t think twice about signing up for the field trip.

“I’m trying not to miss any opportunities or new experiences,” Molodyk said. “I want to try everything I can while I’m here.”

Kappel’s students weren’t the only ones wading through the water. They were joined by employees from the Miami Conservancy District and General Motors Moraine Assembly Plant. GM participates annually in water monitoring projects in more than 30 sites across the country.

“The environment is something that concerns everybody,” GM employee Dave Edlebeck said. “And this is a good opportunity to connect with the community and the schools.”

Equipped with chemical and biological testing supplies, the students and community volunteers analyzed Holes Creek in Centerville-Washington Park District’s Grant Park. What did they find?

“Overall, the results were good,” Kappel said. “The dissolved oxygen test was in the good range and so was the nitrates test. The only concern was the high E. Coli counts.”

Of all the tests conducted, only the E. coli counts, which comes from animal feces, were in the bad range. Kappel, who already has committed to participate in this project twice a year, is looking forward to investigating the results further.

“We will have to wait until we get a couple of years of data in different conditions and compare it, but it’s definitely something to keep an eye on,” he said. “That is the nice thing about a long- term study; you get to see the changes within the seasons and over the years.”

The GREEN program isn’t the only hands-on learning experience Kappel’s students have during the school year. From measuring trees to scuba diving, the Fairmont environmental science students frequently learn by doing.

“This class has interesting subject matter all yearlong,” senior Alison Morter said. The interesting subject matter and firsthand experiences, according to Kappel, will translate well into careers.

“The environment is becoming such a big concern and everybody is going green,” he said. “This is really going to be such a huge job field. It’s just booming.”

Kappel was trained to be an environmental scientist before shifting gears and becoming a teacher.

“I wasn’t planning on being a teacher but I ended up liking it a lot,” he said. “And, now, I can share my enthusiasm with my students.”

That environmental enthusiasm was contagious as the students put their classroom knowledge to the test on the banks of Holes Creek.

“It’s not like being in class,” Paul Baker said. “It’s actually pretty fun.”

Holes Creek report card

Results from the May 13 water sampling: Dissolved oxygen: 122.6 mg/l — good E. Coli: 7,600 colonies/100 ml — bad pH: 8.2 — good Temperature change: 1.5 degrees — good Nitrates: 0.176 mg/l — good Turbidity: 13.7 NTU — good Citizens Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index: 85/100 Biological monitoring (pollution tolerance index):

28 excellent

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