Auburn Middle School students spent a day on the shores of Lake Auburn learning about pollution.

Students learn about lake pollution indicators

AUBURN – Auburn Middle School students spent Oct. 3 on the shores and waters of Lake Auburn learning about the effects that nonpoint sources of pollution have on water quality and the organisms that live in water.

The Auburn Land Lab and Maine Volunteer Lake Monitor Program staff, along with Auburn Middle School teachers, spent the day on Whitman Spring Road and the monitor program training boat moderating activities centered around macroinvertebrates, algae, invasive plants and biodiversity.

The hands-on activities included identifying live macroinvertebrates and rating water quality based on organism presence or absence. Students learned how and where to check water bodies for organisms.

Activities included a game designed to help students understand the survivability of organisms in clean and polluted water. Students learned to check the clarity of the lake water and learned about algae as an indicator of water quality using secchi disks.

Students also learned about invasive plants and animals and how to prevent their spread and how to conduct boat inspections for invasive species using a real boat and plastic plants.

The students built miniature ecosystems and learned about pollution sources that affect the environment.