Materials and Resources

Jamaica Pond Field Trip - Group Leader Guidelines

Brief Summary of Activities with Approximate Times

• 7:30 Leave BLA for Jamaica Pond
• Arrive at Jamaica Pond, walk to "base site" (30 min)
• Review Site Surveying - whole group (15 min)
• Small groups perform site surveys / make water quality predictions (40 min)
• Discuss site survey results / predictions - whole group (20 min)
• Discuss sampling techniques - whole group (20 min)
• Small groups perform pH, Temperature, Turbidity, DO tests (1 hr)
• 11:00 Return to bus

What you are bringing with you

• Dissolved Oxygen CBL setup, TI Graphing calculator, extra batteries
• 5 pH paper dispensers
• 1 MWRA pH testing kit
• 1 MWRA Turbidity testing kit
• 6 Thermometers
• Chemical waste disposal containers
• 10 Whirlpack bags (for Fecal Coliform sample collection)
• Sampling bottles
• Extra student forms, maps
• a watch
• a whistle
• clipboards, sticky tags (for samples), waterproof markers
• goggles and gloves (10 sets)
• plastic pipettes

Detailed Activity Descriptions / Discussion Suggestions:

Site Surveying Discussion: (15 min)
Briefly review some of the following points with your students in the time you have:

• Land use and its effects on the water in JP (houses, ROADS, construction)
• Where does JP water come from?
• What is this water used for (recreation) / what does that suggest about the quality of the water
• Seasonal influences
• Weather influences - current conditions; past week
• Vegetation - types of trees (oak & pine thrive on acidic soils)
• Wildlife / fish - indicators of good water? The pond is stocked with fish. How would the wildlife affect water quality?
• Remind the students that they can look on their handouts for tables of ranges of values for each Water Quality test

Site Surveys / Water Quality predictions in small groups (40 min)

• have a responsible group bring all your materials with them to their site for safekeeping
• circulate to check on groups' progress
• stress that all forms must be completed in duplicate
• use the whistle to signal the end of the survey time
• collect site survey and prediction forms (1 of each from every group)

Discuss surveys / predictions (20 min)

• have each group give the prediction for 1 water quality parameter that they made and explain why they made that prediction
• in the remaining time, discuss any environmental factors/ effects that were not mentioned by the groups

Discuss and demonstrate proper sampling techniques (20 min)

• Stress that it is important not to stir up bottom sediments while taking the sample (affects Turbidity and possibly Total Hardness tests)
• Talk about how representative the samples would be of the water in the pond as a whole
• Stress measuring the distance from shore at which the sample was taken / the depth at that point
• Have a responsible student demonstrate the proper sample collection technique with a Whirlpack bag; stress the importance of gloves and sterile technique
• Discuss safety with the chemical tests: goggles, gloves
• Discuss the collection of DO samples (no air trapped, refrigerate sample)
• Explain the testing "rotation"

Water quality testing and sample collection (1 hr)
Every group should get:

• pH paper roll
• thermometer
• plastic bag for dry disposal
• 3 sampling bottles: one for scooping up water, 1 for Total Hardness sample, one for DO sample to take back
• Whirlpack bag
• 2 sets of gloves and goggles
• 1 plastic pipette

Have each group choose a person who is responsible for this equipment.

Remind the groups of all the tests and sample collections they need to do.

The MWRA pH kit and the Turbidity kit will circulate around the groups. Start them at "opposite ends"; people responsible for equipment will also be responsible for getting the test kits to the next group immediately after the test is finished. The disposal containers should "travel" along with each kit - stress the importance of proper disposal.

Again leave all your extra equipment with a responsible group for safekeeping and "circulate" with the Dissolved Oxygen probe. Try to work with the groups that are not busy with MWRA pH or Turbidity at the moment.

No later than 10:50, signal the end of the testing with your whistle. Collect all equipment back from the groups, as well as 1 data collection form from each group. Collect all Fecal Coliform and Total Hardness samples, make sure each is properly labelled. Return the group to the bus.

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