43
GO with the FLOW
Mahoning River Education Project
By Denise Dick
Youngstown
Decked out in waders that nearly reached his chin, fourth-grader Brandon Rowbotham said he felt like a “CSI rubber duck.”
Brandon, 10, and his classmates in Elaine Hamilton’s class at Paul C. Bunn Elementary School investigated water quality and insect life Friday morning in the Bear Run Creek in Mill Creek MetroParks.
“I feel like I want to go swimming,” Brandon said.
Holly Burnett-Hanley, coordinator of Mahoning River Education Project at Youngstown State University, helped students pull on their water-testing gear.
Tania Simms, 10, toppled over trying to struggle into her waders, giggling and holding onto Burnett-Hanley’s shoulder for balance.
The program is made possible through a federal Learn and Serve America kindergarten-through-12th-grade grant awarded to Earth Force, a nonprofit group that focuses on community problem solving and water. General Motors is a partner in the project.
“Water is our greatest resource,” Burnett-Hanley said.
The students learn about water, its movement and how it gets polluted.
Sean McGuire, urban conservationist with the Mahoning County Soil and Water Conservation district, helped students use nets to scoop up bug life and other critters.
“I bet you can get a crayfish under here,” McGuire said. “Do you know what a crayfish is? It’s sort of like a little lobster.”
They found a few.
“One swam across my hand,” Tania said. “It tickled.”
She and Vinnasia McGary, 10, carried up another net, filled with creek debris.
“It was fun,” Vinnasia said.
Vinnasia, Tania, Alyssa Deslandes, 10, and Paris Wilson, 9, picked through the leaves, rocks and mud with tweezers, searching for bugs.
“I found a worm,” Alyssa said.
When they found one, they inserted it into an ice-cube tray, filled with water.
Thriving insect life indicates a healthy stream. A chart showed different types of bugs, allowing the students to identify what they found.
When a salamander slithered through the muck, it was as if they struck gold.
The girls squealed with delight, and other children came running.
“I want to hold it,” said Talawrence Howard, 10.
He cupped his hand, carrying the tiny creature back to the creek.