What's all the Stink About?

WAITSBURG – Preston Hall students in Lynn Martin's seventh and eighth-grade science classes have been studying the impact of humans on ecosystems. Those studies have focused largely on negative impacts, but last Tuesday the students visited the Pasco wastewater treatment plant and The REACH natural history museum in Richland, and learned that humans can have a positive impact as well.

Martin said that former middle school teacher Russ Knopp arranged, and helped chaperone, the field trip, which fit perfectly with their studies. Waitsburg teacher Brad Green had also visited Martin's classrooms to share about his son, Tyler Green's, training and experience working at the Walla Walla wastewater treatment plant.

"In our studies, we have focused much of our attention on water, and the model we used was Mono Lake in California, which is one of several places the curriculum series focuses on. Unlike the negative human impacts that are seen at Mono Lake, we were able to see some positive human impacts right here in our own area," Martin said.

Martin said the students received a tour of the entire treatment plan. They saw (smelled first!) where the raw sewage enters the plant and how the large debris is filtered out. They visited the tech lab where incoming and outgoing water levels are monitored with technology that is very similar or a seismograph or a lie detector. Students visited the lab where water quality is tested for fecal content and saw water samples.

"With the aid of an electron microscope, students were able to see active protozoan which the eighth grade studied last year. We visited all the ponds and tanks required to clean the water before it is returned to the Columbia River safely. We were all surprised to see that the sludge, once it is processed and dried, is available for free to local farmers," Martin said.

From there, the group traveled to The REACH, a natural history museum that focuses on the natural, scientific and cultural history of the Tri-Cities area. The primary mission of the museum is to be a storyteller, through the use of interactive and inquiry-based programs and exhibits, looking through the lens of the Hanford Reach National Monument and the Columbia River.

Martin said The REACH employees were extremely kind and wrote a grant to allow Preston Hall students open access for free for the afternoon. The students participated in scavenger hunts in order to learn about each of the current exhibits – one on Hanford and one on the natural history of the Columbia Basin.

"The REACH is a beautiful facility and the students enjoyed the freedom of learning through discovery. The only 'disappointment' I heard all day was, of course, the smell (at the treatment plan), but everyone wanted to see the stinky stuff!" Martin said.