My eleventh grade class from High Tech High will begin publishing the results from our oceanic research project that uncovered water quality issues in San Diego and explored the public’s general knowledge of these issues. With the help of San Diego Coastkeeper® (Coastkeeper), we researched how different pollutants negatively affect the environment, conducted a survey of the general public and collected and tested water from six locations in San Diego. 

Bacteria: San Diego’s Favorite Canine-Friendly Beach is Clean

In groups the students researched topics related to water pollution. Each group documented information that they had gathered and shared their findings with the other student groups. Travis Pritchard, program manager at San Diego Coastkeeper (Coastkeeper) gave a presentation to the class about Coastkeeper’s research. The students also learned about how contaminants travel through the environment with a presentation from Kyle Winslow, who works for CH2M Hill.  

Each group of four students was assigned a site in San Diego County, to collect and test water samples. Each week a group of students traveled to the different locations to collect water samples. The samples were then taken back to Coastkeeper to begin fecal indicator. After a 24 hour incubation period, students returned to the lab to observe the samples and record the data.

Using this information gathered from the research and water testing phases, the students created a survey to gauge the public’s awareness of the environment. The students conducted the survey with over 1,100 people from San Diego. The survey results were presented to the public during a school exhibition.

With the information from the research, water testing and survey phases, each group of students created an infographic about their chosen water contaminant. The infographics showcased the water testing data and survey results.

 

Fertilizer Pollution

The students created PowerPoint presentations of the information gathered during the project. The presentations were presented to the public during a school exhibition at High Tech High. At the exhibition, visitors were able to learn and ask question about the project and the environment. A presentation and a survey was also conducted at a divers club meeting in San Diego.

As the project came to an end, the students documented their work by again partnering with Coastkeeper to create a blog series that would detail the project, research and their findings. 

 

To research and help prevent further pollution, a class of 50+ students from High Tech High school in Point Loma, California teamed up with San Diego Coastkeeper® to conduct the “Oceans Away Project,” a project designed to help inform the public of the consequences of their daily actions.