Page 94 - Cultural Studies of Science Education

6 Local Matters, EcoJustice, and Community 71

The students from the farms knew about the problem accessing water, the building
of ponds, the use of wells, and the problem some of the wells had with their levels
of biological and chemical contamination. During the first lesson, almost all stu-
dents wanted to do something about the creek out of a sense of environmental
justice. More so than their parents and older village inhabitants, they sensed that
something was wrong and that they could and should do something about it. And
the desire to do something became even stronger once Misty MacDuffy herself had
given them a presentation about the work she and her project had been doing.
Individuals already working in their professions on issues concerning the creek
assisted not only the Hagan Creek–Kennes Project but also participated in introduc-
ing our students to research and practices. For example, Kelly Cabreras, a water
technician working for a local farm, showed the students where and how she mea-
sured the water levels, how she measured the temperature and oxygen levels, and
how the construction of riffles and the planting of trees alongside the streams
increased oxygen levels (e.g., in sites #6 and #7 on the map, Fig. 7). Chris Parks, a
biologist normally working for a consulting firm, spent one afternoon with the
students, showing them, among others, how to use a colorimeter to measure the
turbidity (cloudiness or haziness caused by suspended particles) of the water
(Fig. 11). The students subsequently got to use the instrument to conduct measure-
ments in various parts of the creek and to correlate these measurements with other
variables of their interest, for example, with the speed of the stream or with the
kinds and frequencies of certain microorganisms, worms, and so on.

Fig. 11 A trained biologist working with and for the environmentalist group explains middle-
school students how to use a dissolved oxygen meter, which they subsequently use to conduct
measurements (© Roth 1998. With permission)