Keith Piccard, Allendale Public Schools

The RAIL Project can be used to teach middle school aged students about ecology and the importance of the water around them.  Aquatic macroinvertebrates are such an interesting way to bring a hands-on, inquiry-based, citizen science  into the hands of people by letting them sample and then gain insight into concepts and processes that occur within the mysterious world of a stream ecosystem. At the same time, they can contribute authentic data to scientists in the field of stream ecology. As an educator, it is this authentic piece that makes the biggest impact. 

Karina White, Jenison Public Schools

My project goal was to develop a method that is accessible to high school students to examine herbaceous and woody plant species biodiversity in the seeded (north) side of the Grand Ravines Park, and to collect baseline data for long-term monitoring. Additionally, we examined the effect of the plant species biodiversity on the invertebrate community biodiversity. Data collection of both plants and invertebrates also occurred on the unseeded (south) side of the park for comparison.