College Students Learn from Mahopac High School Peers

When Katie Schneider, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biology at New York University, wanted her students to have a hands-on experience of the potable water system in New York City, she took them to Mahopac High School.  The Mahopac students she worked with are involved in a study known as the Genesis Project. The project has been using students to restore the health of SEAC Creek in front of their school that is part of the Croton Watershed and flows into the New York City Reservoir System. They teamed up with the NYU students last week for a water quality event that included sampling of their watercourse, releasing trout, and touring the Croton dam and Ossining aqueduct.

“It’s really impressive what these high school students are doing,” said Schneider, after her students worked with the Mahopac students on taking samples from the stream and releasing trout that students raised into the Muscoot River. The two groups of students then took a bus to Croton Gorge Park where they were met by Environmental Protection Police Captain Robert Wisker and Environmental Protection scientist Charles Cutietta-Olson for information sessions on water quality, history of the Croton reservoir and scientific means for cleaning the water supply.

Mahopac High School science teacher Robert Connick pioneered the Genesis Project several years ago, when he was awarded grant money to fund the initial part of the project. He, his fellow teachers and students monitored the water quality of the aquatic ecosystem, removed invasive species of plants and installed floating islands containing beneficial plants to determine if they could act as a filter. The result was that the stream, which occasionally dried up in the summer, remains active all year, and there has been a decrease in the average water temperature and a decline in organic material, all adding up to a healthier water supply. Many of the Genesis students are going on to pursue degrees in science.

“The Genesis Group has a lot of plans for the future,” said MHS senior Amber Wendler, who plans on majoring in biology and ecology at Boston College in the fall. “We recently taught a group of fifth graders from Briarcliff Middle School about how to test the water quality of a creek.” The group also tested the handicapped-accessible walkway and ramps to see if physically disabled individuals could perform water sampling tests and found out they could.

NYU sophomore and environmental studies major Stephanie Viola was impressed with the knowledge of the Mahopac High School students. “I wish my high school had had a program like this,” she said. “It is amazing what they are doing. The trout release was fascinating!”

After touring the Ossining aqueduct from the inside, the group was ready to depart.

Mr. Connick was pleased with the collaboration between the groups. “I have an incredible group of dedicated students in the Genesis Project right now,” he said. “Their work has been a credit to them, their school and the community they live in.”