The AP Environmental Science class was invited out to
Henschel’s Indian Museum and Trout Farm earlier this month to test water
quality in several of their ponds and wells.
This is the second year of an ongoing study of various water quality
indicators including: nitrate, turbidity, total dissolved solids, dissolved
oxygen, and pH. It has been an
invaluable experience for the students to do hands on water testing and compare
measurements with the results that we’ve seen in the nearby Sheboygan
River. It’s shocking to kids that there
can be such a significant difference between two ponds that are separated by
only a few feet of walkway, but it can be explained when we test the two
different sources feeding the ponds. What
we’ve learned so far is that this is a very dynamic system, and that the
groundwater is moving with a great deal of freedom. We’ve seen fluctuations in one pond
associated with heavy rain events, while another one seems unfazed. It’s a real challenge to figure out the
system, making it a very exciting field study for these advanced students. But at the end of the day it’s hard not to be
exciting when there are several dozen rainbows jumping on the surface at
feeding time.
