Rockwood High School

With the damning of the Tennessee River in 1942, the Watts Bar Watershed was created. Rockwood is uniquely located in this watershed and in an area surrounded by lakes, rivers and streams. One creek runs through the school property and is named Black Creek. Black Creek provides a pocket ecosystem for our students to study. For many years, Black Creek was used as a dumping grounds for assorted wastes including household garbage and mixed industrial effluent. Our students currently utilize this creek for recreation including wading and fishing during times of heavy water flow. 

Our project would provide a way for students to not only study the visible ecosystem but to analyze water quality including micro and macro invertebrates and bacterial counts. Since the location is within our campus and a short walk from classrooms, students would be tasked with monitoring the creek and recording changes to the creek . Is it safe for our students to play and fish in? Are students at risk by utilizing this resource? Studying Black Creek and the "cleanliness" of the water it contains is not only a valuable research location/study for our students but also our community shareholders who utilize this creek along with our students. 

The potential impact of this research is tremendous and has the potential to reach upwards of 5000 people community wide. We are asking for $1500 to purchase needed laboratory equipment to complete our BioSTEM laboratory set-up so that we may complete this study and others like it.