4-H Students from Walker and Winston counties attended a water chemistry workshop in early October
On October 10th, AWW Staff – Sergio Ruiz Cordova, Rachel McGuire, and Sydney Smith – traveled to the beautiful Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, AL to conduct a Water Chemistry Monitoring workshop for Walker and Winston County students. We were amazed by how quickly the new youth monitors picked up the sampling techniques. These youth have a bright future ahead of them!
We kicked off the workshop with a little background on the AWW Program, an introduction to watersheds and the types of pollutants that impact our waterbodies.
Learning new things in the classroom is always interesting, but hands-on activities and sampling definitely bring another exciting element to workshops. Luckily for us, there was a nearby pond we could access to practice sampling techniques.
As luck would have it, Waterkeepers from all over the country had their annual retreat at Camp McDowell on the same days as our workshop! Nelson Brooke, the Black Warrior Riverkeeper, was kind enough to spare a few minutes from his lunch to speak with the students. He discussed Alabama’s bountiful waters and aquatic biodiversity, and the importance of youth involvement in watershed stewardship. Nelson also talked about how students can begin careers in the aquatic sciences. Thank you, Nelson for speaking with the students!
After the workshop, the staff had a little spare time to explore the wonderful, beautiful, Camp McDowell property and journey across the swinging bridge over Clear Creek
