Students hooked on science

WASILLA -- Ask any student at Burchell High School what their favorite part of the school's science program is, and you will most likely get the same answer: water testing. Science teacher Tim Lundt has incorporated the tools and techniques used by Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine the water quality of some of the lakes in the Wasilla area. More than 200 students have been involved in the school's water quality program, which started in 1999 with a grant from Fred Meyer, and to a need for knowledge of the water quality of the swimming lakes in the Valley.

"The students are out in the field, testing different things," Lundt said. "They like the hands-on activities."

Burchell is an alternative school for at-risk youth in the Valley. The program started as a two-week ecology class during the summer and has expanded so that students now use the high-tech equipment to do research on the lakes during the regular school year as well. In the ecology class, students learn about chemistry then apply their knowledge while testing for health indicators such as dissolved oxygen, iron, pH, turbidity, suspended soils, E. coli and total petroleum hydrocarbons. They conduct the tests at Wasilla Lake, Finger Lake, Lake Lucille and Cottonwood Lake. Fred Meyer recently donated $2,500 for this year's summer classes and has donated a total of $13,700 to Burchell to date for the program -- representing the bulk of program funding. The school has received other science grants to augment funds, as well. In return, students spend part of the class conducting tests to ensure that Fred Meyer has not negatively impacted Wasilla Lake with parking lot runoff.

"It's a good program to have with the school," said Fred Meyer public relations vice president Rob Boley. "They do a conscientious job, and it's a great learning experience for the students."

This summer Lundt will have two ecology classes, with 10 to 12 students in each session. Students from Burchell, Mid-Valley, Valley Pathways and the correspondence program can participate in the summer program. Lundt said the program's success comes from the hands-on science approach.

"It's the combination of real life with the practical application that makes this program work," Lundt said. "I've had no problem filling the classes."

In addition to testing whether businesses have affected the health of local lakes, Burchell students also test for E. coli and fecal coliform to determine if local swimming areas are safe. The strain of E. coli students are testing for is not the same as that found in contaminated meat; it is the particular strain the EPA uses as an indicator of determining the health of a lake. The students have addressed potential problems at local public beaches at Wasilla, Lucille and Finger lakes to inform the public about current levels of E. coli. Kiosks built by the students tell whether it is safe to swim in the lakes, which are monitored weekly from the end of May through Labor Day.

"The kids made them and installed them with the approval of the city and the state," Lundt said. "They do the work in this class."

During the duration of the ecology classes -- usually a two-week session before and after Independence Day -- students conduct all the testing to determine if it is safe to swim in the lakes. This year, students will also test for fecal coliform, a test approved by the DEC as another indicator to determine if lakes are safe to swim in.

The rest of the summer, Lundt does the testing as a service to the community. He said he hopes the city will take over doing the additional testing sometime in the future.

"It's kind of like a second job," Lundt said.

Lundt said the students who take the course usually continue to enjoy science during the regular school year as well. Some of the students have children themselves, and making sure the waters that their children are spending their summers swimming in gives a sense of stewardship, a great booster for students that may not have done well in 'traditional' science classes.

"If you can't relate a topic to real life, you're not going to get them hooked," Lundt said. "We make this a positive science experience. The big thing is that they come and enjoy the experience and that they are successful."

Not only does the ecology class connect students to science, it also teaches them real-life applications that they can use later in their lives, Lundt says. The tests they learn to conduct are the same tests used by professional water-monitoring groups. Learning how to conduct the tests and ascertain the water quality from those tests can possibly help students land jobs in the science community.

"The kids actually get to learn how to use the equipment," Lundt said. "If they want to work in a lab later on, they know how to use the equipment."

Contact Jen Ransom at jen.ransom@frontiersman.com.