Alexandria Renew Enterprises featured our Hunting Creek research in a recent video.
RiverRenew on Vimeo.
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Student Accomplishments
Congratulations to the students of Dr. Kim De Mutsert on the following accolades:
Sara Marriott was awarded a prestigious SESYNC Graduate Pursuit Fellowship, which is an an 18-month fellowship in which she is part of an interdisciplinary team that will be researching “A socio-environmental approach to improve offshore aquaculture and policy: Gulf of Mexico case study.” It supports travel and meetings to conduct research, provides access to SESYNC workshops and resources, as well as a stipend/honorarium of $2,000.
Sammie Alexander received a $5,000 program development award from Virginia Sea Grant for her project: “Assessment of fish passage use and success in facilitating movement of regionally vulnerable and invasive fish species in northern Virginia portion of the Potomac River.” This is the second award she has received from VA Sea Grant.
Casey Pehrson was awarded the Robert D. Ross Graduate Scholarship in fisheries and related aquatic sciences from the Virginia Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. She received the second place award, which comes with a $250 check.
Katie Russell won the best undergraduate poster award at the Virginia Chapter of the Wildlife Society Conference that was held this week.
Chris Jones wins 2019 Jack Wood Legacy Award!
Dr. R. Christian Jones, Director, Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center, Environmental Science and Policy, began a long-term “green to clean” partnership in 1984 by collaboratively developing a monitoring plan designed to document algae counts, monitor water quality, fish, invertebrates and aquatic plants in Gunston Cove, downstream from the Noman Cole wastewater treatment plant, which at that time had just implemented a new protocol that removed phosphorus, an essential nutrient for algae growth, from the purified water they returned to the river. This partnership has helped train and launch careers of dozens of students, and paved the way for additional community collaborations, culminating in the creation of the Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center (PEREC), and the building of its home, Mason’s Potomac Science Center. For the past seven years, in partnership with Alexandria Renew Enterprises, Dr. Jones’ PEREC team has initiated a more multifaceted study to document water quality and aquatic ecosystem trends in Hunting Creek, downstream of the AlexRenew wastewater treatment plant. Long-term partnerships such as these, and others with Fairfax and Prince William Counties, has fostered mutually beneficial relationships with a multitude of local, state, and national agencies and organizations, while bettering the quality of life for the community.
Originally published on the Prince William County Public Schools website, May 19, 2011
Chesapeake Bay Education Partners and the Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) Office of Science and Family Life Education
The Chesapeake Bay Education Partners (which includes the Alice Ferguson Foundation, the George Mason University Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center, Manassas National Battlefield, Occoquan Bay U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuge, and Prince William Forest National Park) work together to support Prince William County’s environmental education program, “From the Mountains to the Estuary: From the Schoolyard to the Bay.” The partnership provides meaningful watershed experiences for thousands of students, aligned with existing curriculum objectives already taught in the classroom. (The partnership was nominated by Joy Greene, E.A.G.L.E. project coordinator.)
Originally published in The Mason Gazette, April 28, 2011
by Ashley Moss
Seventh grade students from Cooper Middle School gathered at Lake Fairfax in Reston, Va., on April 14 for a series of hands-on science experiments designed to get insight on human impacts on local nature and wildlife. The 130 students worked with a county school science specialist, Mason students and staff from the Potomac Environment Research and Education Center (PEREC) on an outdoor experience called Testing the Waters.
PEREC is a vital part of the university’s Potomac Science Center. Its main purpose is to increase our understanding and stewardship of local ecosystems, watersheds and landscapes through research and teaching local students and communities.
Testing the Waters is part of a larger set of PEREC initiatives that provide meaningful watershed educational experiences for students in Fairfax County and Prince William County Public Schools; the initiative is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In this year alone, nearly 10,000 secondary school students will participate in these educational programs.
Lake Fairfax is a Fairfax County park that spans more than 400 acres and includes several relatively pristine streams. It is prime for student research and learning.
“These experiments tell how healthy the lake is,” says Cindy Smith, education director for PEREC. The students use knowledge they’ve gained from their science curriculum to further determine if a lake is polluted, Smith adds. Using handheld GPS units in the field and mapping programs back at school, students also examined their spatial connection to the Chesapeake Bay.
As interesting as the experiments are, it is the interaction with nature—especially the insect larvae and worms that live in the water–that excites the students the most. “It’s always something that you wouldn’t expect to be the highlight–that’s what thrills the kids,” says Smith. ”They have no idea these critters live here until they flip over a rock or two.”
The program includes a unique opportunity for Mason’s environmental science students to apply their classroom knowledge to extensive work as field scientists and interpreters. The opportunity also allows school-aged students a chance to apply some of the latest technology to studying local ecosystems.
“The purpose is to give students the opportunity to interact with nature and really examine their environment,” says Dann Sklarew, PEREC’s associate director and a professor of environmental science and policy at Mason.
“We hope that this kind of connection, over time,” Sklarew continues, “will be a way for us to instill a stewardship in our whole region and also that it will create enthusiasm for students who might be interested in coming to study environmental issues at Mason.”