Now that they were experts on knowing how pollution could travel and how to measure for a possible pollution spill, fourth graders needed to test various materials to either contain or remove the oil.

Designing their own clean-up process in teams, fourth graders had a limited budget of $20 million and a specific set of materials they could possibly use.  Evaluating their clean-up process was no easy feat.  They had to determine how much oil was left on both the water and the shore, and ultimately how this would impact the ecosystem they had learned so much about.

Not stopping there, fourth graders attempted to improve their clean-up process by changing their materials or the order in which they completed their clean-up process.  Once they were done, fourth graders communicated their results to the Mayor (Mrs. Brinza), recommending the BEST clean-up process.  Would the best clean-up process cost the least?  Or have the least negative impact on the environment?  YOU be the judge!

After a demonstration by Mrs. Brinza showing how water travels through the land, fourth graders quickly discovered how pollution could travel from one place to the next.  Just because pollution was dumped into river didn't mean it couldn't end up on a farm down the block.  And just because someone dumped something behind a school didn't mean it wouldn't make an appearance at a lake far away!

The students needed a way to measure if a change had taken place in either the soil or the land.  And that's when knowing about pH came into play!  Testing various household liquids, fourth graders then extended their new knowledge into testing water and soil samples.  They were able to identify changes and the possible pollution culprits! 

Just how is an ecosystem connected?  

Tehya is a young girl living on a Native American reservation in Washington State.  One day, she notices a shiny, black liquid floating on the river near her home.  Having her late grandmother's journal for comparison, Tehya knows that the liquid is out of place.