Fourth-grader Corey Brooks dipped the small white strip of test paper into the glass vial of cloudy water taken from the school parking lot.
"Look at all the sediment in the bottom," said one of his lab partners, Brady Meixsell.
A few minutes later, the fourth-grader and his peers at Sandymount Elementary School in Finksburg had determined the water's nitrogen and pH levels, and reasoned that its lack of clarity would mean a drop in the production of algae and zooplankton, minute animal life that floats in water.
"Smell it, man," said Chris Collins, 11, to Drew Fritz, 9, referring to the sample.
Drew declined. "I know - it smells like a dumpster," he said.
Their scientific investigation, which took place one afternoon in science teacher Collin Angell's class, was not an exercise in grossing themselves out. As they compared the results of the same tests on much clearer water from the Patapsco River, they learned about the impact that impervious surfaces, such as parking lots and roofs, can have on the environment - and that whatever is dumped on the ground eventually affects the water system.
For several weeks this spring, fourth-graders at Sandymount and Eldersburg elementary schools have ventured into murky waters, using their newfound knowledge to develop their own contribution to cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. As part of a pilot project in the Carroll County schools, they are creating rain gardens, with native plants, to help retain water and remove nutrients that would otherwise go on to sully bay waters.
"It just opens their eyes to some problems that you do not see on a normal basis," Angell said. And it also shows the kids that "there are things we can do."
Rain gardens act similarly to natural wetlands, absorbing water and helping filter nutrients and sediment that otherwise cloud water, blocking sunlight and keeping submerged aquatic vegetation from growing, said Bryan Shumaker, Carroll's resource teacher for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Funded by a $150,000 grant the school system received to foster interest in the fields, the pilot project could become part of the school system's fourth-grade curriculum, with every school eventually having a rain garden, Shumaker said.
Teachers at Sandymount and Eldersburg say the project has brought something fresh to engage students as the school year winds down.
