STEM Camp 2018 Legacy Documentation

Environmental Team
Colin Cederna - Mike Owensby - Dustin Williams - Aharon Poorman - Martina Smith

Day 1 - June 25th, 2018

The opening day of STEM camp began with an adventure to Lake Lanier to study the
biology and chemistry of the manmade reservoir. After students checked in, moved into their
dorm rooms, and said farewell to their families; we traveled by bus to Gainesville, Georgia for
the first segment of STEM Camp 2018. The campers took a pre-camp survey with their group
preference and the vast majority of them were placed in their first pick of either environmental,
bioengineering, or robotics. Each group had about 15 students and 4-5 fellows.

Standards
SEV1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to investigate the flow of energy and
cycling of matter within an ecosystem.
c. Analyze and interpret data to construct an argument of the necessity of biogeochemical cycles
(hydrologic, nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen, and carbon) to support a sustainable ecosystem.
e. Plan and carry out an investigation of how chemical and physical properties impact aquatic
biomes in Georgia. (Clarification statement: Consider the diverse aquatic ecosystems across the
state such as streams, ponds, coastline, estuaries, and lakes.)

SEV4. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to analyze human impact on natural
resources.
a. Construct and revise a claim based on evidence on the effects of human activities on natural
resources.
Human Activities: agriculture, forestry, ranching, mining, urbanization, fishing, water use,
pollution, desalination, and wastewater treatment
Natural Resources: land, water, air, and organisms
Lesson
Lesson Staging - we prepped for today by providing all of the students with reusable water
bottles for the week. The weather was in the high 80s/low 90s all week, and hydration was
essential for our environmental team as we had outdoor activities planned for every day of
STEM camp. We also brought pack lunches for the students to eat before meeting with the
Elachee Nature Center’s naturalists. After eating we walked over to the dock where the “floating
classroom” awaited the first half of the campers.

Introduction - (10 minutes) one of the naturalists gave our environmental team an introduction
of Lake Lanier while we waiting for a thunderstorm to blow over. She spoke for about 5 minutes
about the construction of Lake Lanier in the 1950s. The dam blocks the Chattahoochee and
Chestatee Rivers, and was constructed to help control floods, generate electricity, and provide
drinking water to the city of Atlanta.

Driving Question - How do humans alter the waterways and landscapes of Northeast Georgia?
How can we test human impact using scientific experimentation? By the end of the lesson
students should be able to explain several ways humans alter the ecosystem as well as several
ways to scientific explore human impacts.

Floating Classroom - (45 minutes) - on the floating classroom the students were split into two
groups, one group would be studying the chemistry of Lake Lanier while the other studied the
biology of the reservoir. On the biology side the students discussed the various plants and
animals that inhabited the reservoir and the surrounding forest. We even got to see a bald eagle
nest with 2 bald eagles resting near it. The students used plankton nets to capture plankton from
the lake, they also got to observe the tiny organisms using microscopes provided onboard. The
students were able to see zooplankton moving around the slide, insight into the invisible world of
microorganisms. They also conducted a turbidity test using a Secchi disk.

The students then transitioned to the other end of the boat where they first collected water with a
bucket and rope. The students formed small groups of 3 or 4 and conducted pH, titration of
what?, and dissolved oxygen tests. We were able to teach students that pH is on a logarithmic
scale. For example, a solution with a pH of 4 is 10 times more acidic than a solution with a pH of
5, whereas a solution with a pH of 3 would be 100 times more acidic. This helps students
understand why organisms are sensitive to pH changes that seem relatively small if one does not
understand that pH is logarithmic, and highlights the importance of environmental and human
factors that affect the pH of bodies of water.

Pavilion Lesson - (45 minutes) - while the other half of the campers experienced the floating
classroom our group of 22 students was led through a series of activities with one of the Elachee
naturalists. The naturalists had 3 different buckets with holes on the bottom: one with sand, one
with soil, and one with soil and plants. She taught the students the importance of plants in
relation to erosion. They witnessed that the bucket with just sand, let water rush out of it at a
rapid pace while the bucket with plants only let a small amount of water out of the hole. This
reinforced what they learned on the boat, that riparian buffers help to slow the rate of erosion.
The number one pollutant in Georgia waterways is silt, caused by construction and other human
activities. The silt blocks sunlight from reaching far into Lake Lanier, causing aquatic life to
suffer. We then created our own water filters using sand, gravel, and coffee filters. It was a first
time experience for the vast majority of our students. We finished off the pavilion lesson by
playing water jeopardy. Each table was given a massive map of Georgia with historical water
facts strewn all over it. The question was asked and the first team to find the answer won the
points. It was fun and competitive.

After traveling the hour back north to Demorest we had an opportunity to debrief with our
groups about the floating classroom.How? Were any misconceptions addressed? The vast
majority of them were thrilled with the experience and learned a lot about Georgia’s great lake
and its general quality. After watching them interact with each other during the day, we let them
decide what groups (3-4 students/group) they would be in for the week.
Day 2 - June 26th, 2018 (180 minute block)
Lesson
Lesson Staging - The tables were arranged to facilitate small group work. Each table had
everything the children would need to test water in the lab and in the field including the testing
kits, waders, and ponchos. We were going to start the day by building eco-columns, so we set out
soda bottles, scissors, instructions, and tape on each of their tables. On a fifth table, we set up a
grow lamp and put out the rest of the supplies (sand, soil, rocks, fish, fish food, water, radish
seeds, and elodia) that they would need to finish their eco-columns. We also put up data
collection sheets for the students to record and quickly compare nutrient levels in water from
each site. We set out chromebooks on each table so the students would be able to research water
quality at the end of the lesson.

Driving Question - Do human practices affect water quality? How can we identify human
impact on water quality using scientific experimentation? By the end of the morning session they
should be able to submit suggestions, based on yesterday’s and today’s learning, that will lead to
less pollution due to erosion. By the end of the lesson students should be able to identify
differences in water quality and hypothesize how/why water quality changes at different points
in a stream.

Morning Session - Eco-Columns

Introduction - (30 minutes) We started our day by walking from the dorms to the wetlands on
Piedmont campus. “Remember yesterday at Lake Lanier when we were cleaning water; what
methods did the group with the clearest water use to clean it?” (We waited for students to recall
that the best way to clean the water was by pouring it out slowly). “Wetlands act in much the
same way; they slow water down reducing erosion and turbidity and increasing infiltration.
Infiltration helps to clean the water as it moves through different soil layers. You are going to be
making eco-columns to observe how abiotic and biotic factors affect the different ecosystems.
We will need some dead plants, leaves, and some decomposers for our eco-columns; make sure
to collect some worms and roly-polies.” We gave them 10 minutes to gather what they would
need for their eco-columns then we walked back to the STEM center.

Eco-columns - (80 minutes) We showed the students a completed eco-column and explained
what each chamber was and why it was necessary. Then we discussed how to build the eco-
columns as they followed along with the directions on their desk (Appendix B). There were three
roles to fulfill in each group. The first role was to build the decomposition chamber. The second
was to build the terrestrial chamber. The third was to build the aquatic chamber. After all of the
chambers were built, the team worked together to assemble the parts. They put their finished
eco-columns under the grow lamp.

Conclusion - (10 minutes) “Think about what you put into each chamber. Why did you put
plants into the terrestrial chamber; why did you make a decomposition chamber?”
Hopefully students will discuss the importance of preventing erosion, slowing surface
runoff, and how nutrient cycling affects aquatic organisms. We can address several
misconceptions with these eco columns. For example, students are often prone to
simplifying the relationships within a food web and they may not understand that
ecosystems are very dynamic and heavily influenced by both natural and manmade causes.
Also, a food web only shows one type of relationship: the transfer of energy. Within an eco
column we are better able to visualize and explain other types of relationships.

Reflection - (60 minutes) Students were to reflect on different methods of preventing/slowing

surface runoff. They also need to think about the pros and cons of the mining industry.

Afternoon Session - Into the Field!

Introduction - (5 minutes) “We are going to visit three different locations of a stream that runs
through the Piedmont campus. We will test the water’s levels of pH, DO, K, N, P, temperature,
and turbidity at each site. When we get back to the lab you will copy the data you collected onto
the data sheet by your lab table. Then you will analyze the data.” We had the students gather
their water testing kits, ponchos, waders, and water bottles, then we headed to our first location.

Water Testing - (150 minutes) At each stop, each group had their own test to run (DO, turbidity,
and P). We asked for a volunteer from each group to help one of the teachers to use different
sensors (K, N, pH, and temp.), record the data, then report the data back to their group. At our
last stop we discussed the relationship between the previous two sites and the one we were
currently standing in. One of the students recognized that we had walked downhill from the
previous two sites so they must be feeding into the larger one we were standing in, they were
correct. We also briefly discussed the beavers that live upstream from our third site, and
surprisingly the students knew a lot about beaver behavior and role within an ecosystem. There
were some gaps that were quickly filled in with a brief lecture on the original dam builders,
beavers.

Back in the Lab - (30 minutes) We had the students record their data. Next they researched
acceptable levels of nutrients in streams so they could draw conclusions about the health of the
water they tested; we let them use their phones and the chromebooks we provided. We also
provided them with QR codes (Appendix C) that linked to explanations of why each
measurement was important. Our ELL students had access to the same documents that had been
translated for them. (Appendix D) Then we had the students hypothesize why there were or were
not differences between the sites.