SEEDs Students Learning About Water Testing

"I want to make the world a better place and I want to raise up a generation of others who want to do the same," said Ms. Erin Guesno, a program coordinator for SEEDs at Marion Elementary School in Michigan.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Ms. Guesno applied for and was awarded a $500 Learning to Give mini-grant focused on after-school programs, which was made possible in partnership with the Michigan After-School Partnership (MASP) and NYLC. Once stay-at-home orders came into play, Ms. Guesno and her students wanted to continue with their planned service-learning project, but in a slightly different way. 

The project, coined SEEDs Students Learning About Water Testing, kicked off with a remote version of the lesson Poseidon's Watershed and a directional video recorded and shared by Ms. Guesno with just under 50 kindergarten to 6th grade students. Students were given the option to choose to do the water testing at home or meet Ms. Guesno in-person at a local pond.

"Academically, the students had great discussions about the science of water testing and what we looked for," said Ms. Guesno. "Students reflected on their own and even recorded some thoughts that I pulled together into a video for them to share out in the community." 

The full $500 grant went toward the water-testing kits and some additional funds were used to buy blank journals and labels. "The grant money gave us the tools to by the water testing kits," said Guesno. "These kits were valued. Students knew they were expensive and wanted to use them accurately to test water."

To learn more about this great project, watch the service-learning video Ms. Guesno and her students created: 

These students are not done yet! "We have actually already begun the Doodle Stones project that is a Learning to Give lesson plan," explained Ms. Guesno. "Our goal is to place uplifting quotes to inspire the population in Marion to live powerful lives."