On May 15th at SEA Lab in Redondo Beach, 29 students from 5 South Bay high schools participating in the Surfrider Foundation’s Teach and Test Program presented their results that reflect seven months of water quality testing at 15 South Bay beaches as well as the Ballona Creek Wetlands.
Entering its seventh year, the Teach and Test Program’s primary goal is to foster future environmental stewardship among students, create community awareness about local water quality, and provide realistic solutions to improve conditions. Surfrider Foundation South Bay Chapter volunteers mentor the students and the beach and provide guidance as they collect water samples. Back in the labs, local high school teachers guide the students through the analysis process. Since the inception of the Teach and Test program, six students have been accepted to science programs at their chosen universities and two current students won LA Science Fair awards.
South Bay Chapter activists, Alan Walti and Ann Zellers, worked on securing grant funding from the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Foundation and formed a partnership with Algalita Marine Research to include a Waste Characterization Study (WCS) at Redondo Union High School and Mira Costa High School as part of the Teach and Test program. Started in 2009, the WCS helps students identify trash sources. Results to date indicate that a majority of the trash is plastic and food related and that the first and second rain events of the season deposited the most trash. The El Segundo and RUHS science teachers have incorporated this program into their students required curriculum for the year.
The Teach and Test Program is co-chaired by South Bay Chapter activists Tiffany Murphy and Dan Ryan. "We had 4 awesome presentations from the participating students/schools. The El Segundo students even did a video; with outtakes. Needless to say they blew us away," said Tiffany, Program Co-Chair.
To learn more about the Teach and Test Program visit: http://www.surfrider-southbay.org/tnt.html
Contact the Program Co-Chairs directly via e-mail:teach-test@surfrider-southbay.org.
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