Weekly students sample water and air quality from the school owned saltwater and freshwater wetlands. Every Tuesday, the Wetland Ambassadors meet to after school to determine the overall healthy of the sixty acres of wetlands. They change into their waders or wading booties depending on the weather. Only lightening and school holidays prevent them from sampling. On Friday, the entire Oceans class has the opportunity to sample from the saltwater wetlands. It is interesting to compare air quality during the day versus air quality during school traffic.
Once a month the Wetland Ambassadors travel to four other sampling sites: Redhead Pond, Packery Channel Flats, and Bob Hall Pier. Each of these locations represents a different ecosystem and has unique water and air qualities. Redhead Pond was a historic freshwater ecosystem where almost three fourth of the redhead ducks in North America landed during migration. Due to human interference the freshwater wetlands change to saltwater and ducks failed to return to the pond. The WA along with local citizens and scientists have been working to restore the freshwater along with native plants. The students monitor this area and report their finding to local scientific bodies. The second site students visit each month is Packery Flats. After water and air monitoring the students conduct a trash pickup. Trash from across Texas are blown or carried by water into the wetlands area. Local wildlife is in turn hurt by the trash. Even though students did not make the mess it is important everyone helps clean it up. Packery Flats is preserve that is fed by the hypersaline Laguna Madre. The Laguna Madre is our third sampling site. This is the only hypersaline lagoon in North America and one of only six worldwide. It is renowned for its plump fish, high biodiversity, and unique ecosystem. The final stop is Bob Hall Pier on the Gulf of Mexico. This is the only ‘ocean’ site sampled. While there students perform nurdle surveys and report back to local environmental and scientific bodies.
Scientists from local nonprofits, environmental groups, and local academic facilities met with students during the monthly sampling trips. Students have learned about trash impacts on bird from ornithologists, plastic pollution from nurdles, ocean acidification on native plants, and pollutions overall harm from environmental biologists.
