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Practice tests ensure more accurate results later. Jeffrey Baker’s environmental science class at Alpha School sharpened their skills with water and soil tests. “The water quality tests were done on water samples from the Licking River in preparation for an upcoming field trip with Perry Soil and Water,” Baker said. “We did pH and other chemical …

Twenty educators from rural Ohio districts had the opportunity to learn some new lessons as part of the Ohio Rural Educators Program (OREP). This project is funded by a three-year, $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support the agriculture workforce development pipeline. Teachers gathered at the Ohio State University’s …

Recently Feed the World alumni educator Jeff Jostpille’s 8th grade science class at Fort Jennings High School learned the basics of soil: the components that form it and the weathering process that affects it. They also learned about soil texture and particle size. In the lab, each pair of students were assigned soil from around the local area to …

Water quality is important to all of us, and hands-on testing is an engaging way to emphasize that. Over 60 students in Amy Aspenwall’s AP Environmental science class at Loveland High School recently completed the macroinvertebrate study for water quality. They surveyed the Little Miami river near Maineville, Ohio. They also performed turbidity, …

What’s an estuary? A place where two chemically-distinct bodies of water meet and mix. Teachers visited a Lake Erie estuary in the Investigating water quality workshop, presented by Ohio Soybean Council and Ohio Corn & Wheat. Water quality is a hot topic in Ohio right now, and this workshop gave teachers the opportunity to learn about …

Water quality in Ohio is the focus of the H2Ohio initiative, a comprehensive, data-driven water quality plan to reduce harmful algal blooms, improve wastewater infrastructure, and prevent lead contamination. Industry experts Breann Hohman and Beth Toot-Levy spoke to the Investigating water quality workshop participants about their work to improve …

What’s an estuary? Estuaries and surrounding wetlands are bodies of water usually found where rivers meet the sea. Estuaries are home to unique plant and animal communities that have adapted to brackish water—a mixture of fresh water draining from the land and salty seawater. But estuaries can also be freshwater ecosystems. Along the Great Lakes, …

The Feed the World Soil and sustainability lessons provide students with a variety of activities to better understand how soil functions as a system. This article provides a clear explanation of the importance of microbes in the soil. The tiny organisms living in soil may have a greater effect on the yield and pest and disease resistance of crop …