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Struthers 7th-graders learn about watershed, water pollution
STRUTHERS
Seventh-graders were quickly engaged when learning about Yellow Creek on Friday.
“People need to care more,” said Kareem Hickman, 11, one of the students who was testing water samples from Yellow Creek in Scott Stoddart’s science class at Struthers Middle School.
The lesson serves as the introduction for a new program for the school district that was established by General Motors, Earth Force, an environmental-focused organization based in Colorado, and the Mahoning Soil and Water Conservation District.
“It gets kids excited about the [science, technology, engineering and math] disciplines,” said Kathleen Vrable-Bryan, administrator of MSWCD.
The program has an emphasis on service learning by educating students on the issues within their community, she added.
Pete Pirone, the principal of Struthers Middle School, said it was exciting for students to experience “real-life applications” in the classroom, and that the school wanted to spark student interest before the end of the year.
“The more hands-on they get, the more efficient the learning is,” Stoddart said.
He said he hopes the lesson teaches students how “small little things can have a huge effect” on the environment.
Michael O’Hara, an environmental engineer for General Motors, said students would learn about a water’s pH, a measure of the acidity or alkalinity, temperature and levels of phosphates and nitrates.
Danny Roush of Earth Source said such programs exist throughout more than 40 major metropolitan areas in the nation that have a GM facility in them.
“I’m really looking forward to going a little deeper [with the program],” he said.
That includes taking students out to Yellow Creek to collect water samples for further water-quality testing and visiting local water treatment facilities, Vrable-Bryan said.
The program has been carried out at Youngstown City Schools for the last decade, but is expanding to other school districts, she added.