A Stafford County school has received an award from the Virginia Mathematics & Science Coalition (VMSC) for the 2014 Programs that Work Awards. These awards are given to those that work with students in STEM fields, including mathematics, science, technology and engineering.
Katie Gnadt, the recipient of this award from Drew Middle School, was honored by Stafford County Public Schools for her work with her students on a project titled, “A Meaningful Watershed Experience”.
More information on the project from a Stafford County Public Schools release:
The Drew Middle School Meaningful Watershed Experience is a program intended to actively engage students in understanding their impact on their local watershed environment. Through this program students will gain an in depth understanding of their local watershed ecosystems, how the abiotic and biotic factors influence one another and the importance of humans as good stewards of the environment. Students participate in series of field activities developed to cover the Life Science standards of learning, while meeting the programs objectives. At the Friends of the Rappahannock, students use technologies to take and test water samples and collect macro-invertebrates to determine the health of the river at a given location. They use erosion boxes to explore how runoff is affected by various permeable and impermeable surfaces. With the assistance of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, students collect and examine a multitude of species of fish. Samples are taken through electro fishing (performed by Alan Weaver’s team of biologists from the DGIF), as well as rod and reel fishing. All samples are classified, measured, counted, and returned to the river.
This project was completed with the cooperation of several local organizations, including The Friends of Rappahannock and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
It was one of only eleven projects throughout Virginia to receive distinction in the Programs that Work program from the VMSC.
