June 1, 2017

High school students in the field, monitoring streams

Posted by larryohanlon

By Mauri Pelto

The Nichols College Pipeline program has completed the 18th consecutive year of field work on streamflow and water quality in the same streams at the same time of year with high school students. Our most useful measurements have proved to be the combination of the aesthetic underwater view of clarity and substrate covering. These can be combined with the ongoing water quality measurements. The variability in water clarity and in degree of algae coverage of the substrate is striking between these streams all in the same Webster Lake watershed in Central Massachusetts. The underwater footage actually provides a measure, but also are great at science communication. This STEM project publishes a video of the results and experiences each year. Enjoy the 2017 and 2016 footage.

Pipeline 2017 from Mauri Pelto on Vimeo.

Pipeline 2016: Stream Assessment-College Day Simulation from Mauri Pelto on Vimeo.