News

Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman and Stormwater Education Coordinator Sierra Stickney (Resilience Corps NC AmeriCorps member) were in the field this week doing behind-the-scenes prep work for some educational outreach.

The two Sound Rivers staffers were invited to present to “Food for Thought” on Thursday. “Food for Thought” is an afterschool program hosted by Working Landscapes, an environmental justice group based in Warren County, known as the birthplace of the environmental justice movement.

“During February, the theme is biodiversity, air quality and water quality,” Sierra said. “We have the honor of presenting for the water-quality portion and sharing a bit about the work that Sound Rivers does.”

On Tuesday, Katey and Sierra collected water samples from several locations, with the intention of using those results to teach students how to read IDEXX samples under a black light and calculate the most probable number of bacteria in the samples.

The samples collected were from Mason’s Landing on Tranters Creek and Havens Gardens Wildlife Resources boat ramp, both of which are regular Swim Guide sampling sites. They also happened upon a ditch that flows directly into Runyon Creek from the construction site of a new elementary school in Washington, and took samples there.

Sierra said she was looking forward to Thursday’s presentation.

“This is an awesome opportunity to inspire young people about issues affecting water quality while collaborating with another nonprofit with overlapping goals,” she said.

Resilience Corps NC AmeriCorps is a service program of the Conservation Trust for North Carolina, funded by a grant through the North Carolina Governor’s Commission on Volunteerism.

Like the work your Riverkeeping team and program staff are doing to teach youth about water quality? So do we! Donate today to help support Sound Rivers’ educational outreach!