By Matthew Niebes
Special to The Citizen
Moving into its eighth year in existence, the McIntosh High School Adopt a Stream program is part of a state run, volunteer based research program in which students test water quality in various sites around the state. Participants regularly perform various chemical, biological, and bacterial tests on the water in their sites to determine the quality of the water and discern any foreign pollutants.
The program began as a research alternative to the high school science fair for students interested in gaining hands-on experience. The sites are chosen in collaboration with local stormwater monitoring management groups, and each site is assigned a team of about 4-5 student volunteers who perform various tests throughout the academic year.
Students become part of the program through a selective application process which values work ethic and dedication to scientific inquiry over test scores and GPA. Martine Van-Voorthuysen, an alumni of the group, notes that the program “is far more than something to build a resume — you get to physically go out and do something you believe in.”
In addition to their work at the various sites, the students of the Adopt a Stream program seek to promote awareness about various issues regarding pollution and water quality, and over the past five years, the student volunteers have discussed these issues with nearly 4,000 people as part of a community outreach program.
Additionally, McIntosh students have regularly participated in the annual Rivers Alive cleanup campaign for Georgia’s various bodies of water. However, as one student notes, the biggest impact can come just from testing because “sometimes the testing sites are practically in people’s backyards.”
The McIntosh Adopt a Stream program has now trained over 165 students many of whom have gone on to gain research internships and other academic opportunities as a result of their work in the program. Volunteers are encouraged to remain in the program throughout their high school years.
According to the program’s advisor Michael Delisle, many of the participants are legacies, students who follow siblings into the program because of the quality of their experiences. The program seeks to instill a sense of environmental commitment into its volunteers not only for the years they participate in the program, but in the subsequent years as voters and members of the community.
