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Watershed Assessment Project
Final Report
Final Report
Date
June 2022
Role
My role within this project has evolved over time. As a student in 2022, I completed field and lab work focused on watersheds. Alongside another student, I conducted a research project examining the perceptions and attitudes of stakeholders in the Hickory Creek watershed. In my Senior Inquiry, I continued this work by gathering riparian field data, which we analyzed and compiled into a report on riparian zone integrity. Subsequently, I took on a leadership and mentoring role, training students in these areas. I delineate the watersheds we study using GIS and utilize SPSS to create graphs for our final reports on the water quality data from Goose and Hickory Creek Watersheds. My final watershed project will focus on Candlelight Creek, which is particularly interesting due to the unique challenges posed by part of the stream being buried, allowing us to explore the ecological implications of past human decisions. Last, I was a teaching assistant in ENVR 100 and ENVR 402.
Skills
- Field and Lab Research Skills: Conducting hands-on watershed work and data collection.
- Analytical Skills: Analyzing data related to riparian zone integrity and stakeholder perceptions.
- Leadership and Mentoring Skills: Training and guiding fellow students in research methodologies.
- Technical Skills: Using GIS for watershed delineation and SPSS for data analysis and visualization.
- Report Writing Skills: Compiling research findings into structured reports.
- Project Management Skills: Coordinating multiple aspects of watershed research projects.
- Critical Thinking Skills: Evaluating ecological implications of historical human decisions related to land use.
Community Capacity
+ 50 community members spoken with about watersheds in their area
Student Capacity
+ 100 students trained over summer and in classes during my time as manager
The Watershed Assessment Project is a comprehensive study that involves water quality field and lab analysis, erosion monitoring, and research on macroinvertebrates and fish species populations. Using GIS for land use and impervious surface calculations, as well as Lidar, the project also focuses on microbial source tracking and microplastic collections. This endeavor is a collaboration with the City of Davenport and Partners of Scott County Watershed, aiming to provide vital information about the health of our waterways and ecosystems.
