South Lakes Students Check The Environment In Their Own Backyard

South Lakes IB science students took their learning outdoors on Wednesday as they conducted a stream study to evaluate the health of one of Reston's storm water management systems.

The students set up at spots along the Snakeden Branch, right next to the school to evaluate the health of the stream and make predictions on what the future will hold due to new construction and development in the area (such as an upcoming renovation of Terraset Elementary School and a potential redevelopment of Reston National Golf Course, said SLHS teach Amol Patel.

"The students are taking on a large scale evaluation of the health and making predictions about how the health of the stream will be affected due to possible development on the golf course," he said. "I have worked with Rescue Reston and Reston Association, among other local organizations, to help craft the assignment and tasks for the students so that this project is both project-based, place-based, and authentic."

Patel says the students will be collecting their data in the field and mapping it so that we can analyze that data spatially.

"The ArcGIS class will be using all of the data that our students collect and map to analyze the data and provide our students with different layers of maps to help them analyze the health of of the stream.  The students are also asked to make suggestions/recommendations to help minimize human impact on the ecosystem."