300 students attend Lake Erie Water Festival in Monroe

Staff Reports
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Ida Middle School sixth graders Maddison Cowie, Hannah Dean and Fisher Knuth work on a water test for "turbidity" with Femi Olawale from the University of Toledo at the annual Lake Erie Water Festival. They conducted the test near one of the ponds on the campus of the Monroe's IHM Senior Living Community. Turbidity is a measure of the levels of particles, such as sediment and plankton, in a body of water.

MONROE — Nearly 300 Monroe County sixth graders participated in Tuesday's Lake Erie Water Festival.

The annual event is hosted by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Senior Living Community and is held at the Motherhouse campus on Elm Avenue. Attending this year were students from Ida Middle School, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Academy in Newport and Monroe Catholic Elementary Schools.

Ida sixth grader Caiden Fuller shows the perch she caught in a fishing simulation. Students visited nine stations as part of the festival.
Ida sixth grader Caiden Fuller shows the perch she caught in a fishing simulation. Students visited nine stations as part of the festival.

Students listened to several presenters and visited nine interactive stations. They learned about bees, fishing and ways to keep the water safe.

"The event is designed to help the students learn about our most precious natural resource — clean, fresh water. By teaching them about water quality, organizers hope to inspire the next generation to be great stewards of water resources," said Calley Duffey from the IHM communications department.

Hands-on activities included water testing and composting.

Ida Middle School sixth grader Chloe Juckette was dressed as the queen bee as Melanie Davis (left) and Bill Bray as the honey bee spoke to students about bees and beekeeping at the annual Lake Erie Water Festival. "We always pick a student to dress as the queen bee," Bray said.
Ida Middle School sixth grader Chloe Juckette was dressed as the queen bee as Melanie Davis (left) and Bill Bray as the honey bee spoke to students about bees and beekeeping at the annual Lake Erie Water Festival. "We always pick a student to dress as the queen bee," Bray said.

"Perhaps most importantly, students learned about the River Raisin and Lake Erie's central role in the region’s quality of life and how they can protect our water resources," Duffey said.

Students also learned about composting, organic farming, habitat restoration, Lake Erie birds, measuring water quality, macroinvertebrates, soil erosion and bioaccumulation in the Great Lakes.

Sloane Stumpmier (center), a sixth grader at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Academy in Newport, makes a disgusted face as community outreach interpreter Mike Broughton showed the waste that can be polluting the rivers. He showed how marshes can help the problem.
Sloane Stumpmier (center), a sixth grader at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Academy in Newport, makes a disgusted face as community outreach interpreter Mike Broughton showed the waste that can be polluting the rivers. He showed how marshes can help the problem.

Teachers received classroom resources with pre- and post-activities from the Monroe County Intermediate School District.

Presenting partners of the Lake Erie Water Festival were the IHM Sisters, River Raisin Institute and MCISD.

Ida sixth grader Hannah Dean casts a fishing pole. Fishing was one of nine stations showing handcrafted habitat areas that are part of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge exercise.
Ida sixth grader Hannah Dean casts a fishing pole. Fishing was one of nine stations showing handcrafted habitat areas that are part of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge exercise.

Presenters were from Huron-Clinton Metroparks, St. Mary Organic Farm, Bird Center of Michigan, Monroe Conservation District, Ohio State University Stone Lab, University of Toledo, River Raisin Beekeepers, University of Michigan Dearborn — Environmental Interpretive Center, Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge and the Monroe County Historical Museum.

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The festival is free for students. It's offered with support from the Monroe County Environmental Fund,

Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge park rangers Maddie Drury and Erika VanKirk show sixth graders from Ida Middle School how to cast a fishing pole underhanded at Tuesday's Lake Erie Water Festival.
Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge park rangers Maddie Drury and Erika VanKirk show sixth graders from Ida Middle School how to cast a fishing pole underhanded at Tuesday's Lake Erie Water Festival.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: 300 students attend Lake Erie Water Festival in Monroe