About fifteen high school students from the Emotional Sciences course at the Collège de Levis entered the waters of the Lallemand Stream to study its contents during their J’adopte un cours d’eau picnic last June 2. During this river monitoring trip, adapting to the future project of the Water Education and Environmental Monitoring (G3E) Group, they conducted physicochemical tests and analyzed river biomarkers.
As part of their stream adoption outings, the students met with G3E workers who gave them workshops in class before going for a foot dive in Lallemand Creek.
“We start with workshops in class. We go a few times to classes and explain what we are going to do in the field. There are three components of a river adoption project, including site description, physical chemistry and biomarkers,” explained Lydia Duranlow, River Adoption Coordinator. Capitale-Nationale District.
Thus, the students of the emotion science course attended two workshops, one on physical and chemical manipulation and the other on the analysis of biomarkers present in water. They then put their knowledge into practice by collecting samples from the Lallemand stream and were able to analyze them at a station set up directly on the site.
“In the Emotion Science course, we try to make sure that what we teach is career-oriented and to make everything tangible. Emotional sciences course teacher Sandra Lapointe shared, “We do many experiments in school, but the most exciting thing is we do experiments in this field.”
Effects over time
This is the second edition of this outing that the students of the Collège de Lévis take part in. Last year, they also collected samples from Lallemand Creek. This year, they will be able to compare their results with those obtained during the last release.
“The goal is to ensure it continues over time. We have to go back every year and the goal is to do a study that stretches over time. This will allow us to see if climate change, urban development or agriculture can have an impact on water quality,” Ms. Lapointe said.
The students who took part in the picnic were motivated by the concrete applications of science. The Emotional Science course teacher even appealed to all of her ex-students now in high school III who participated in the first course. Three of them agreed to relive the experiment.
“To do experiments, to go near the river and in the field, it is really interesting. Oftentimes, we are in the lab, and it is less realistic,” raised two third-year high school students.
Finally, remember that G3E is an organization that has been promoting a philosophy of citizen participation and commitment to waterway health and monitoring for over 30 years. Through its various projects, G3E focuses on current social and environmental issues, including climate change adaptation and environmental education, to make a difference and change things.
