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Mitchell kids part of wave of water activities

Contributed by: FrontRange Earth Force on 4/13/2007

In keeping with a great tradition, sprung from our national Earth Force partnership with General Motors, students from Mitchell Elementary exchanged their science classroom for Heron Pond Natural Area on April 10.

The students geared up with sampling nets and chemical testing equipment to perform water quality monitoring.They joined over 9,500 other students in North America who will participate this year as part of the Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN), a partnership between community-based organizations and Earth Force.

GREEN, sponsored by General Motors, has been giving students the opportunity to participate in hands-on science in their communities for almost 20 years. FrontRange Earth has been locally coordinating GREEN in Denver since 2000.

"Students have prepared in their classrooms by learning about the urban water cycle and are really excited for the chance to get their hands wet," said FR Earth Force science partner Charlie Chase, who helped to oversee the efforts at Heron Pond Natural Area. "Students will look for macroinvertebrates, or aquatic insects which are indicators of water quality, and will perform other tests to help them understand the condition of Heron Pond."

The Mitchell students checked the levels of pH, fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen and nutrients like nitrate and phosphate.

"Once they have collected the data, their real work begins," according to Tash Mitchell, who provides technical assistance and support to educators at Mitchell Elementary as part of FrontRange Earth Force's partnership with the school.

"At the stream we help the students complete the tests and identify the aquatic insects," said Karen Firth, an employee volunteer from General Motor's Denver facility. "We also help students to interpret the results. When we are done, students will have a good idea of the health of their sample site and can start thinking of projects that could improve the health of the watershed."

Each year over 300 GM employee volunteers not only help in the water during the field days in more than 30 locations, but often assist in the classroom to interpret results, discuss implications for their community and share information about their careers.

"It's always a fun day with the students at the Heron Pond" said Ms. Firth, "but more importantly, it helps us fulfill an important goal for GM, which is helping to educate the public regarding environmental conservation. Much of our work is focused on the future and how we can continue to improve the environmental performance of our vehicles and our manufacturing processes, so spending time with the next generation of active environmental citizens is a natural extension of our work for General Motors."

Activities are planned in many other communities, with our Earth Force partners. In Saginaw, Michigan, the Saginaw River will be an outdoor classroom for two days in April. In Bowling Green, Kentucky, engineers at the General Motors Corvette facility will leave their desks and head into local classrooms to talk with students about watersheds.

In Sandy Springs, Georgia, students will meet with city officials at streamside to discuss their recommendations for keeping city streams healthy for future generations. General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader for 76 years.

Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 280,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2006, nearly 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

For almost ten years, FrontRange Earth Force (www.ef-den.org), has been working with local educators to empower youth to take leadership roles in improving the quality of life in their schools, neighborhoods and world. We believe young people can change their communities now, while developing life-long habits of active citizenship and creative problem-solving! Our service-learning programs engage educators and young people in hands-on, active educational opportunities that make a positive impact on students' academic success, as well as on their schools and communities. FR Earth Force is an independent field site of Earth Force Inc., a national organization, with our own board of directors and independent fundraising activities.

Earth Force engages young people as active citizens who improve the environment and their communities now and in the future. For more than a decade, Earth Force has championed opportunities for educators and young people to have in-depth, hands-on learning experiences that serve to increase students' problem solving skills, knowledge of science and the environment, and community involvement. In 2006, GM GREEN involved over 9,500 young people in projects that improve the health of their watersheds with the help of 300 corporate volunteers from 54 GM facilities. For more information on Earth Force, contact Jackie Clark at (301) 987-7113 or go to www.earthforce.org.



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