Front to back, sophomore Laura Ingram, senior Nathan Daniels, and sophomores Alexis Martinez-Ramirez and Kylie Decator perform chemical titration to measure dissolved oxygen concentration in the water samples
Photography by Dianne Carroll Burdick
Kelloggsville – For a dozen years or so now, Kelloggsville High School teacher John Linker has been taking biology and chemistry students to Harbor Island in Grand Haven to spend the morning aboard the D.J. Angus, a Great Lakes Research vessel maintained by Grand Valley State University.
‘We learned a lot of different things that relate to science, looked at clarity, conductivity, pH levels and oxygen levels, compared Lake Michigan and Spring Lake. Overall, it was great experience, and I would definitely recommend others do it.’
– Isaac Merdzinski, Kelloggsville junior
Students and Grand Valley instructors stop first in Spring Lake to sample the physical and chemical characteristics of the lake water. Then they head out into Lake Michigan for a mile or two, outside of the plume of the Grand River, to sample the characteristics of the lake. As they return to port, they compare and contrast the samples and discuss the differences and similarities.
Deckhand Tim Halloran helps prepare the Grand Valley State University D.J. Angus boat for Kelloggsville High School students’ visit
Said Linker: “We measure variables like water clarity, turbidity, plankton density, depth and temperature. Inside the lab, we measure variables such as pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, phosphates and conductivity. It’s actual, hands-on, real-life, aquatic field data collection and research. Many of our students have never been on a boat like the D.J. Angus before, let alone out on Lake Michigan. The trip is a perfect connection between classroom instruction and actual applied data collection and science with a purpose.”
From left, Audrey Whitaker, Annis Water Resources Institute education and outreach intern, and junior Amyah Hodges look at a slide
Science instructor Steve Jablonski reviews the collected data
From left, juniors Amyah Hodges, Alejandro Chavez-Partida, Jacqueline Cano and Victoria Doan lower a Secchi disk into the water
Junior Isaac Merdzinski wholeheartedly agreed.
“The boat trip was such a great experience,” he said. “We learned a lot of different things that relate to science, looked at clarity, conductivity, pH levels and oxygen levels, compared Lake Michigan and Spring Lake. Overall, it was great experience, and I would definitely recommend others do it.”
Science instructor Steve Jablonski instructs students on the use of a Secchi disk, which provides a measurement of water clarity from the surface
For Linker, that’s what it’s all about.
“It has been a great opportunity for students,” he said. “This trip has been the highlight of our year ever since we started coming aboard. The people are great, and the students learn and connect a ton of information. It’s a pretty awesome trip.”
Kelloggsville biology and environmental science teacher Hayleigh Skestone and a student look at the sample under the microscope, enlarged on the monitor
From left, science instructor Steve Jablonski shows junior Amyah Hodges identifying characteristics on a live invasive quagga mussel
From left, science instructor Steve Jablonski secures a Forel-Ule color scale to junior Jacqueline Cano’s wrist, as junior Victoria Doan listens. The scale provides a standardized comparison of water color
From left, science instructor Doug Haywick talks about the Great Lakes watershed to John Linker, Kelloggsville school-to-work coordinator, junior Juac Ayaul and other students
From left, junior Joshua Aguilar-Vazquez assists deckhand Tim Halloran with a Van Dorn bottle that has just come up with a water sample
From left, science instructor Steve Jablonski, and juniors Mariana Silva, Tyler McDaniel and Hailey Bos use a turbidity tube to measure light passing through a surface water sample
From left, juniors David Munoz and Joshua Aguilar-Vazquez are volunteer ‘heroes’ of the day. They help the deckhand retrieve water samples over the side of the boat, hence the life vests for safety. They finished helping Tim the deckhand, and are using a small turbidity tube to measure the density of plankton in a concentrated sample which had been obtained from the plankton net
From left, juniors Mariana Silva, Tyler McDaniel and Hailey Bos enjoy a laugh during their task
Sophomore Adelisa Odobasic reads the measurement on an electronic turbidity meter
From left, Jacqueline Cano and science instructor Steve Jablonski review the pH (acidity) values she and her partner measured in the water samples
In front, Kelloggsville High school-to-work coordinator John Linker lowers the Secchi disk into the water at the Spring Lake sampling station with a group of students. This station is at the deepest spot in Spring Lake, known as the “Deep Hole,” at about 42 feet
From left, Hailey Bos, Amyah Hodges, Tyler McDaniel and Alejandro Chavez-Partida examine material of the bottom sample to determine whether it is sandy or organic muck
Junior Victoria Doan holds a sample the students found in a bottom sample from Lake Michigan
Science instructor Doug Haywick, in blue hat, and students discuss properties of an organic muck bottom sample collected from Spring Lake. Students in the background perform the plankton density measurement
From left, juniors Tyler McDaniel, David Munoz, Mariana Silva and Jacqueline Cano examine a sea lamprey
From left, Alejandro Chavez-Partida, Tyler McDaniel, Joshua Aguilar-Vazquez and Victoria Doan, prepare their titrators for the titration process
Science Instructor Doug Haywick presents the certificate that states that the Kelloggsville students have completed water quality studies aboard the D. J. Angus, vessel of the GVSU Annis Water Resources Institute
Kelloggsville biology and environmental science teacher Hayleigh Skestone and a student look at the sample under the microscope, enlarged on the monitor
From left, sophomores Alexis Martinez-Ramirez and Kylie Decator join science instructor Doug Haywick in looking on as students perform a chemical titration test to measure how much oxygen is dissolved in the water samples
Phil de Haan covers East Grand Rapids and Kelloggsville and is the lead reporter for Grand Rapids. He hails from Exeter, Ontario (but has called Grand Rapids home since 1985) and is the son of a longtime public school teacher who taught both English and machine shop. Phil took both classes at South Huron District High School, but English stuck, and at Calvin College, where he met his wife, Sue, he majored in English and minored in journalism. His background includes both journalism and public relations, including teaching an advertising and PR course at the college level for almost a decade. In the summer of 2019, he began his own writing and communications business, de Haan Communications. In his spare time, Phil plays pick-up hockey and pickleball and tries to keep tabs on his two adult children. Read Phil's full bio
To celebrate our 10th anniversary, your School News Network team is re-publishing some early stories from each school district. This story, originally published in February 2015, talks to fathers who are discovering the ins and outs of public education thanks to the WATCH D.O.G.S. program.
