Harbor Watch Hosts Annual Student Symposium, Dec. 7

Westport, CT – The Harbor Watch team is proud to host their Annual Water Quality Symposium on Thursday, December 7, at Earthplace from 6:30-7:30pm. Throughout the fall season, 15 high school students from Fairfield, New Canaan, Weston, Wilton and Bridgeport participated in the River Research Program, focused on studying the water quality in Stony Brook, Sasco Brook and the Norwalk River. These students will present their findings in a conference-style poster session to community members, municipal partners and local teachers.

During this six-week program, the students learned about important local water quality issues and what Harbor Watch is doing to help track down and mitigate sources of sewage pollution in natural waterways. They were also taught methods for bacteria and nutrient testing in water and were exposed to useful field and laboratory skills, data analysis, and presentation skills.

Presentation topics will include comparisons of bacteria concentrations and other water quality parameters in each river studied over different periods of time. An additional seven students from Wilton and New Canaan will be presenting on water quality projects completed in partnership with Harbor Watch during the summer field season.

Nikki Spiller, Director of Harbor Watch says, “We believe that all our education programs are vital in providing students in our community with hands-on educational experiences to solve real-world problems. While in our programs, they are given the opportunity to explore a possible career path, develop a better understanding how their actions can impact the health of these rivers and Long Island Sound and gain critical thinking and analysis skills that can be used beyond the sciences.” 

Learn more about the Harbor Watch student programs.