Waterville, OH - Teachers from all over northwest Ohio took a break from summer Thursday, got in the Maumee River at Farnsworth Metropark in Waterville to learn about water quality.
"It is important for us to test our water just to see if it is safe water to drink, safe water to play, safe water to swim, so that is our whole goal at TMACOG is working with our whole community to make sure our water is safe," said Gilda Mitchell, TMACOG's Director of Membership and Outreach.
These teachers learned how to collect samples from the water and measure different levels of nutrients, dissolved oxygen, and the presence of bacteria.
The hope is then these teachers will take what they've learned, and bring it back to their classrooms.
One Clay High School teacher, Meredith Wolfe says her students are asking questions about our water quality especially with their school sitting so close to Lake Erie.
"We have the harmful algae blooms and my students they're right there in the thick of it, and we just need to watch out for what's going on in our community," said Wolfe.
Wolfe said her students like many others will take water samples this fall, and then report their findings at the Student Watershed Summit put on by TMACOG.
"TMACOG actually provides kits for all the teachers to use when they are taking them back to their schools and it helps out with students to understand the water quality and why our water is what it is. And it gives the teachers the opportunity to learn what they need to and apply it to their classrooms," said Mitchell.
The Watershed Watch is in its 29th year and is expected to bring hundreds of high school and junior high school students together in November.
