We are excited to welcome a new group of 20 rising 10th grade students to campus for a week of exploration and hands-on learning. Everyone got to meet each other and push themselves to try new things at the UMich Adventure Education Center where they spent the day practicing collaboration, developing trust, and having fun. The adventure ended with the climbing wall.

Our first full day of Earth Camp focused on water quality and exploring the Huron River. Students spent the morning comparing water quality a two different sites using the presence of different macro invertebrates species as an indicator of water quality, as well as chemically testing the water for dissolved oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, pH, turbidity, and temperature as more indicators of water quality.

These measurements led a discussion on non-point source pollution and how it affects drinking water, as well as recent water quality problems in Ann Arbor Arbor, Toledo, and Flint.

The students spent the afternoon kayaking up the Huron River from Argo Pond towards the Barton Dam – they were an impressive group and took to it easily.