Good Morning Watershed Explorers,
I hope that this post finds you all doing exceptional. I have had the pleasure of meeting with two classes of Watershed Explorer students for some water quality testing in the last two weeks and both classes were fantastic. The students of Community Prep School in Providence tested water from Riverside Park (the Woonasquatucket River), and the students from Agnes Little in Pawtucket tested water from Slater Park (the Ten Mile River). The good news is that the dissolved oxygen levels in both rivers were excellent. This means that all of the gilled critters, as well as animals that absorb water through their skin, have plenty of dissolved oxygen for survival. The bad news is that both rivers tested positive for fecal coliform bacteria which means that the rivers are not swimmable.
Here is a picture of what a positive fecal coliform bacteria test looks like:
Note that the sample color is yellow and the gel tablet is at the top of the sample. If this were a negative test, the sample color would be red and the gel tablet would be at the bottom.
Many of you are either at home learning on a screen or at school learning on a screen. As always, I encourage you to get off those screens when you can and take an outdoor break. Once you leave school for the day, or sign-off with your teacher, try to get outside. The fall is a wonderful time to observe many types of critters. The fresh air is also wonderful for your health.
Lastly, I wanted to share a picture of my scientist friend Tristan who planted his NBC Watershed Explorer seed packet from his NBC Watershed Explorer kit. You can definitely start those seeds indoors and then replant them outside in the spring! I hope your plant does well Tristan.
Happy Exploring Scientists,
Mrs. Morissette