In honor of the old (dare we say tired?) stand-by -- the "what I did this summer" essay -- we bring you... what we did this summer! Let me tell you: it was jam-packed. This year, we held our third annual Citizen Scientist program. High school students from three of our partnering NYC public schools took part in a three-week experience examining the health of the Bronx River Watershed. The project culminated in presentations of recommendations for improving water quality.
Students, many of them English language learners, along with TR@TC alumni and affiliates, teaching interns from John Jay College, and high school teaching assistants, were busy bees despite the heat, and MAN was it hot. The temps couldn't keep them down as they collected and analyzed macroinvertebrates, conducted waste analyses, and performed chemical tests on the water samples they collected from the Bronx River in New York Botanical Garden, the saltmarsh at Randall's Island, the oyster beds at Governors Island, and the Gowanus Canal.
Students analyzed the data collected so that they could design proposals for cleaning up the Bronx River Watershed, increasing the quality of the water around New York City.
We were so proud to watch them present their findings and recommendations at Teachers College's Smith Learning Theater to guests including Michelle Booker, Deputy District Director at the US House of Representatives!
TL;DR: Over the summer, high school students participated in a three-week TR@TC-developed program to learn and act as scientists and take responsibility for taking care of the only earth we've got.