Stream Team project connects rural students to environmental science, water monitoring

April 28, 2026 (Volume 49, Number 16)
Article by Brian Vernellis

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A water monitoring project guided by faculty and the Annis Water Resources Institute is introducing students from rural West Michigan schools to environmental science while generating valuable data for their communities.

The Stream Team project trains students to collect samples and analyze data from Crockery Creek and its surrounding watershed. Educators, family members and faculty gathered at AWRI on April 21 to hear the students’ presentations.

The project began with a community survey led by Amanda Buday, associate professor of sociology, who sought to understand how local residents perceived water quality in the watershed. Many, she found, were unsure of the condition of their water.

“There was a patchwork of information from different agencies, points of time and parameters,” Buday said. “We realized that there was an appetite for better information and stewardship about the waterways.”

Her connections led her to Ravenna High’s environmental science educator Melanie Block, who works with the school’s Future Farmers of America chapter and teaches an agriscience class.

“At the time, she was teaching a rural technology class,” Buday said. “So, we got the class out monitoring Crockery Creek, and that started the whole stream monitoring program.” 

Four years later, classes from Montague and Coopersville are a part of the program, too. Students monitor pH and E. coli levels, salinity, turbidity and biological indicators, bringing clearer insight into local water quality.

“These small inland streams are where a lot of people have a point of contact for their recreational water use,” Buday said. “They hunt in these streams. They fish in these streams. They take their kids to the parks where these streams flow through. They have a lot of interaction with these local waterways.”

The project has also evolved into a cross-disciplinary effort, Buday said, with faculty from sociology, geology, statistics, biology, environmental studies and public health contributing their expertise. Grand Valley students also play a key role by supplying field training, technical support and peer mentorship.

“We’re hoping that the Grand Valley students are providing a model of another peer who’s a science student,” Buday said. “Having peer models who are the 'face of science' for our high school students is important. 

“Those trainers are logistically important, but they also have that peer mentor role, where we’re connecting the high school students directly to Grand Valley students.”

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