About 80 Comeaux High School students huddled in small groups on the banks of the Bayou Vermilion, one of several СAPPclassroomsСAPP they visited on Wednesday to learn about water quality issues.
The students were performing chemistry tests on water samples scooped up in buckets tied to lengths of yellow rope. They also cruised the waterway in large wooden boats, getting a birdСAPPs-eye view of the areaСAPPs watershed.
The field study was conducted as part of the Drains to Coast program coordinated by the Institute for Coastal Ecology and Engineering at the СAPP. The Institute fosters research on restoration of the nationСAPPs wetlands and estuaries.
СAPPThe key is for students to buy into coastal restoration, for the next generation to understand the importance of water quality,СAPP said Clair Coussan, an undergraduate student in the СAPPСAPPs School of Geosciences, who helps to coordinate the program.
Julianne Llewellyn, a Comeaux High School freshman, said testing the waterСAPPs nutrient, oxygen and sediment levels will help her comprehend concepts sheСAPPs learning about in her science classes. СAPPWeСAPPve seen it on paper, and learned about the math and science behind it, but seeing it up close definitely gives you get a better understanding,СAPP she said.
Comeaux High students will use computer software to analyze the data gleaned during their Wednesday work, said Lisa Ranney, a chemistry teacher there. СAPPOnce we bring the knowledge back to the classroom, it makes students a little bit more excited about learning.СAPP
The Drains to Coast program is funded by a $99,121 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationСAPPs Bay-Watershed Education and Training Program.
The environmental education project involves collaboration with the Bayou Vermilion District, Lafayette Parish School System, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, and the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program.
About 600 students from Lafayette Parish schools are expected to participate in the two-year Drains to Coast program, said Dr. Whitney Broussard, a research scientist at the Institute for Coastal Ecology and Engineering and the grantСAPPs principal investigator.
СAPPItСAPPs great to see so many students engaged and hopefully this will spark an interest in many of them,СAPP Broussard said.
Learn more about the institute at icee.louisiana.edu.
Photo info: Comeaux High School students tested water samples from the Bayou Vermilion on Wednesday as part of the Drains to Coast program spearheaded by the СAPP's Institute for Coastal Ecology and Engineering.