Molly Moffe
CEIRP Project

I have had the chance to work extensively with three different teachers so far this year. At Whitney Point High School, I worked with Bill MacNeill and Dave Wiley and their Environmental Science class to set-up their chemical test kits and probes so that the students could do a water monitoring project of their local Whitney Point lake. To supplement working with chemical test kits, we did a project with bioassays so that another water monitoring technique could be learned. The students examined the toxicity of Clorox to other "environmentally friendly" household cleaners. They used lettuce seeds in their bioassays. A lesson was also done with the students that dealt with the safety issues of using chemical tests kits and disposing of the waste.

I have also been working with Rosemarie Wolf at East High School in Rochester. I have been working with all of her Earth Science Regents classes. The concept of vermicomposting was introduced to the class, and they had the chance to monitor the composting that took place over several weeks. Composting was brought into the class as a means to demonstrate one way we can help with erosion and the rebuilding of our soils, which is pertinent to Earth Science (and also as a waste reduction technique). Working with Rosemarie, we also helped to start-up composting in the school's student-run café. We also developed some labs using a stream table. They were presented to the students as experiments that needed to be performed. They dealt with erosion, deposition, and stream formation. We also had them do an experiment with Sweet Tarts to demonstrate chemical weathering and the role of surface area.