ArtStream Ava Summer School

Ava Summer School ArtStream: Riparian Zone and Aquatic Plants
50 students, 4th-8th grade, working from their own field studies, created these block prints

June 5-28, 2006
Artist: Jenna Weston
Teachers:
Gina Clinkingbeard, Mary Kay Davidson, Barbara Groover, Donna Sherman

Approximately 50 students and four teachers were involved in this project. Students experienced a macroinvertebrate survey and a riparian zone plant survey in both a stream and a pond. Students traveled to Beaver Creek on June 13, and the following day walked few blocks from Ava Middle School to a local pond. Students were amazed when they found mayflies in the brown pond water on the second day. Students also studied food chains, food webs, polluted run-off and point source pollution. A local artist, Jenna Weston, worked with student drawings of riparian zone plants, expanding them into block prints. After completion of their prints, students combined their work and constructed a paper collage of prints for display in the Middle School hallway.

A short pretest was given to students near the beginning of summer school. Scores ranged from 0 to 80%; with an average score of 36%. Not one student correctly identified their school's watershed. Only 30% recognized the definition of a watershed, while 80% knew the source of a stream is called its headwaters. Thirty-nine percent correctly identified a pipe dumping chlorine as an example of point source pollution.

A post test was given at the end of summer school. Scores ranged from 40% to 100%, with an average of 85% (an increase of 49%). All students correctly identified their school's watershed as the Beaver Creek Watershed. Sixty-one percent recognized the definition of a watershed (an increase of 31%) and 85% knew the source of a stream is called its headwaters (a 5% increase). Forty-two percent correctly identified an example of point source pollution (a 3% increase).