Professors John Looney Jr. and Richard Gelpke have also been involved in outreach projects with high school students in Providence, Rhode Island, on a Nynex grant to study pollution in the Runnins River, and a Healey Grant to study the Neponset River with juniors and seniors from West Roxbury High School.
The Runnins River grant was focused upon water pollution, both underground and surface. This river flows between Massachusetts and Rhode Island and empties into Narragnsett Bay. High levels of pollution have closed the shell fishing beds there.
The Neponset River flows across the fall line into Dorchester Bay. Coastal beaches and the Bay have been polluted but the pathogens are decreasing in amount.
As a result of these projects, Professors Looney
and Gelpke are convinced that high school students can undertake meaningful
research and study on watersheds. Data collected can be transmitted by
the Internet and overall learning can be increased through contemporary
technology. Data collected can be shared and compared, and therefore made
more meaningful. The data and work on the Runnins and Neponset are offered
from a standpoint of both what and how. If you want 1st person consultation
about these projects, contact Looney@umbsky.cc.umb.edu
or Gelpke@umbsky.cc.umb.edu.
Boston Harbor Basin Map: Includes Neponset Watershed