STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES
As a part of the DRA, secondary and college level classes are being offered at Defiance College by Sabrina Brown in the 2023 Spring semester: Inquiry in Science (NSCI 220) and Fundamentals of Water Quality (BIO 495) are open to students in any major and will provide more information on the basics of water quality research. Inquiry in Science will be available to both Defiance College students and high school College Credit Plus (CCP) students. It will focus on how scientific research works by performing hands-on research in the Upper Maumee Watershed. The second class, Fundamentals of Water Quality, is an upper-division science course for Defiance College students and will include hands-on water quality research, as well as opportunities for students to make connections with scientists and professionals.
CITY-COLLEGE CONNECTION
Early in 2022, the Defiance Water Treatment Plan (WTP) began operating an inline nutrient monitoring system on the Maumee River. This equipment provides staff at the WTP and others (see Smart Watershed Pilot on p.3) real-time water quality data to determine optimal times to pump water to the municipal reservoir and has assisted WTP staff in its operations of filling the reservoir. This new data set is also useful to those working to understand and solve problems related to harmful algal blooms throughout the Great Lakes region.
This innovative new “City-College” partnership will provide ongoing benefits, as the DRA is developing applied research projects in association with this real-time data that is collected locally—while building opportunities for student internships at the high school level, along with research assistants at the college level. There are opportunities for strengthening and building new relationships with the staff throughout the City for career exploration. Currently in development is a field trip for high school science students, not only to learn more about the City’s operations of providing clean drinking water and processing wastewater, but also to explore the newly renovated Science Lab for hands-on and interactive activities at Defiance College.