Sharon Balch

Students will not be the only ones tested at Jones Cove Elementary School this year. Balch has developed a project that will have the students testing the quality of Yellow Breeches Creek, which is located at the foot of the hill upon which the school sits. "Stream Ecology" is a science-based project that will allow students to monitor water quality. The students will collect chemical data from the Breeches Creek stream, including temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen content, nitrates levels in parts per million, and turbidity (cloudiness) of water. The physical data captured will include the identification of macroinvertabrates (immature insects, crustaceans, worms, and mollusks) in the stream as well as stream discharge (the measurement of the amount of water that flows by a certain point in a particular time). Approximately 65 students in sixth through eighth grades will participate in the water quality project. Balch resides in Cosby.