As part of St. Ed’s 50th Anniversary celebration in 2015, ten students volunteered for a project to collect and analyze sediment samples from the Indian River Lagoon to measure the health of a local portion of this diverse and sensitive ecosystem.
The project goes under the acronym PURPOS, or Pirates Understanding and Researching Pollution with ORCA Scientists. ORCA (Ocean Research and Conservation Association) has an office nearby in Fort Pierce.
St. Ed’s forged a partnership with ORCA based on mutual interest and a shared proximity to the waterway. “They made a presentation to some of our students, and the students expressed a real desire to get involved and learn more about what they were doing,” said St. Ed’s Science Chair, Kerryane Monahan. “ORCA was interested in working with us and we were interested in working with them.”
The area under study is a one-mile stretch of the lagoon from the Alma Lee Loy Bridge heading south. On a typical outing the students collect five separate samples per site from as many as 15 locations selected by ORCA. The protocol for sediment collection is very strict; the habitat must not be disrupted by the intrusion of a motorboat. The samples are composited to ensure they are representative, refrigerated for preservation, and ideally delivered to the ORCA lab the next day.
The students will stay involved every step of the way. Monahan was ecstatic to enlist so many volunteers with other time-consuming commitments at school. Freshman Ben Oakes and sophomore Michael Burke took on the added burden despite wall-to-wall academics and sports. For Burke PURPOS was literally a tight squeeze at times.
On a recent Friday Burke went out on the lagoon in the morning to collect samples, came ashore to finish the classroom portion of his school day, suited up for a soccer game that evening, and went to the state meet with his swim team early the next morning. Fortunately, the Saturday sample delivery to the ORCA lab was rescheduled.
“I’m taking AP Biology this year, so I feel like this all goes hand-in-hand,” Burke said. “I knew I was going to have a lot of scheduling conflicts and some overlap with all of these sports, but I believe I can handle my schedule.”
Burke and Oakes ran cross-country together in the fall. Burke also swam in the fall and joined the soccer team immediately afterwards. Oakes’ itinerary was only slightly less frenetic.
“It’s been a little difficult to set aside the time for PURPOS, academics and sports, but it’s nice to have a good combination and not just focus on one thing,” Oakes said, “I think we’re going to find some surprising information. People don’t really know what’s happening in the lagoon right now. I think it’s a huge problem based on what we’ve found so far.”
On a recent outing Oakes witnessed the die-off of catfish. Some of the sediment samples already analyzed in the lab led researchers to conclude that other marine life may be in jeopardy. “All of this poses some questions,” said Oakes.
The data collection phase of the project, or what Monahan calls the “science part,” will precede a community outreach effort next year to explain the findings.
“We are directly analyzing the sediment for nitrogen and phosphorus levels,” Burke explained.” We will mix bioluminescent organisms with sediment samples in vials to see how much light they give off. If there’s a lot of light, that means they are in a healthy environment.” The students will elaborate on all of this in 2015.
“I don’t have words to describe these students,” Monahan said. “I’m hoping to expand their minds, and I love the fact that they are athletes, or in theater. You develop to your full potential only if you are using all of your skills and talents. Why would you want to box yourself into one thing?
“We hope this project continues for a while, but there are costs involved, so we always have to be mindful of fundraising. These kids grew up in this area and have a vested interest in the health of the lagoon. And they love science. This is an opportunity for them to work one-on-one with a scientist doing real core science.”
The year-long 50th Anniversary celebration kicks off in January.
“We started a little early with PURPOS because we want the students to share their results with the community,” said Marketing and Communications Director Monica Jennings. “It’s important that we give back to the community we’ve been part of for half a century. Community service is vital for the complete educational experience at St. Edward’s.”