By David Fleet
Editor
A high school senior will leave behind a cleaner environment after graduation this spring.
Last fall, Goodrich Senior Hannah Gill, 17, used her Senior Capstone project to motivate other students to understand science and take a closer look at the environment.
Since 2013, GHS seniors like Gill, are challenged by a final school project that any student enrolled in a high school English class must complete to graduate. The project allows students to apply all they learned to a meaningful project.
Inspired by the FFA Agriculture Food and Natural Resources Education class Gill takes at the Genesee Career Institute, 5081 Torry Road, Flint the Capstone project included teaching one hour lessons to four Goodrich High School freshman classes and six-one hour lessons to Brandon Middle sixth grade science classes. The class activities lead by Gill, focused on water quality by testing local sources from samples from the Kearsley Creek at the Atlas County Park for Goodrich students and Duck Creek water samples for the Brandon students.
“We tested for PH, nitrates and phosphates,” she said. “I hoped to build students interest within the field science and consider the environment.”
Gill explained to students why they tested the water for specific indicators.
“With the (Goodrich) high school students I had them test for macroinvertebrates, which are insect larva,” she said. “Different ones are indicators of better quality (water.) We found some pretty good ones. Then compared to EPA standards so they could see the water was good.”
Gill’s project was entered into the Career Development event FFA Agriculture Food and Natural Resources Education contest where she won at the state level. The competition was in Lansing.
Hannah will Study Environmental science at Ohio Northern University this fall. Eventually work with the aspect of water quality.
Tracey Groom, teacher Agriculture Food and Natural Resources Genesee Career Institute assisted Gill with the project.
Hannah is the daughter of Roger and Kelly Gill.