TRAVERSE CITY — Students from the Northwest Education Services Career Tech Agriscience program recently took part in a two-day course to learn about local environmental stewardship efforts focused on groundwater monitoring.
The trip’s objective was to identify sources of water, such as rain, snowmelt, underground wells, lakes, rivers and streams and to learn about the earth’s aquifers – layers of water-bearing materials such as rock or sediment found deep below ground that store a large amount of the planet’s water.
The event was organized by Midwest Water Stewards, a group of farmers and agribusinesses dedicated to responsible stewardship of water resources, and sponsored by Iott Seed Farms and Potato Growers of Michigan Inc.
Day one was spent at Iott Seed Farms in Kalkaska with Dennis Iott, where students performed a field test to probe the farm’s well-monitoring site and recorded live data that measured groundwater depth when the irrigation system was in use versus how the groundwater recovered in the well after the system was turned off.
Day two was spent on a nearby branch of the Manistee River at another monitoring site to measure the rate of water flow across the streambed and to learn if the river was connected to the groundwater aquifer system below the streambed which stores and supplies water to surrounding wells and springs.
In 2021, Todd Feenstra, owner of Tritium Inc., a hydrogeologic consulting firm that works closely with Midwest Water Stewards, began groundwater monitoring in the region to learn if local farming practices were sustainable.
“It is fun to watch the minds of these students come alive,” Feenstra said. “Our hope is that these kids are inspired by today’s science lesson and walk away with a better understanding of the importance of being good stewards of the water resources around us.”
With their research came the desire to educate others on their stewardship efforts, which led the team to invite North Ed Career Tech Agriscience instructor Brian Matchett and his high school students out for field day discovery trips to help collect data, verify results and apply science theory to learning about groundwater monitoring.
“As educators, we hope to inspire our students and help them develop critical thinking skills,” Matchett said. “We know real-life, hands-on learning opportunities like this can be incredible experiences for them.”
North Ed Career Tech, located at 880 Parson Road in Traverse City, offers more than 20 programs to high school juniors and seniors from North Ed’s service area including Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Leelanau counties.
For more information on the center’s programs visit the Career Tech’s website.