Monitoring the health of Glen Helen Nature Preserve: Can I drink the water?

Abstract

Glen Helen Nature Preserve is a 1,000-acre nature preserve of woods, waterways, prairies, and fields, all accessible daily from a 25-mile network of trails. Antioch College through the Glen Helen Ecology Institute manages the Glen, which serves as a valuable public resource for hiking, birding, and exploration and an important resource for the future development of the college curriculum. Students from Antioch College and Wright State University (graduates and undergraduates) participated in a joint collaboration to assess water quality at seven sites in the Glen. Water quality monitoring is essential to the Glen’s preservation, because water quality reflects not only the health of the area’s watershed but is also an indicator of the Glen’s ecosystem. The project’s water quality assessment goals were successfully implemented into the student’s curriculum and included analysis of four core areas: on site sampling data (temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH), microbial data (biological oxygen demand and coliform and E. coli counts), ion chromatography anion analysis (Cl-, NO- 2 , NO- , Br -, 3 F -, SO2- 4 , and PO3-4), and inductively-coupled plasma chromatography trace metal analysis (Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Al, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, and Pb). Antioch College provided access to the Glen during the 10-week project but data analysis took place in the WSU facilities for all three sampling events. WSU students gained teaching experience from the mentorship of Antioch students who benefited academically from access to WSU laboratory expertise. The service learning course also introduced WSU students the importance of documenting laboratory methods through the practice of writing standard operating procedures. The project’s findings provided information on the chemical heath of the Glen and gave students the rare opportunity to disseminate scientific information to the public. The new sampling, instrumental, and teaching skills acquired will assist students in their future endeavors into academia and industrial chemistry.