Budding Environmental Scientists
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Budding Environmental Scientists

The West Montgomery County Citizen’s Association presented their first awards to students for environmental science projects done in the Potomac Planning area.

Students at the elementary, middle and high school level were recognized for a variety of projects they completed.

Hoover eighth grader Michael Clinch was honored for his work “Fecal Coliform Bacteria Count in the C&O Canal.” Clinch tested water at Edward’s Ferry, Swains Lock and Georgetown to determine the amount of bacteria at each site.

“The counts did increase on the way from rural to urban,” Clinch said. Although his study did not analyze the reasons behind why, Clinch has an idea. “I believe there’s a higher count in the urban area because the population density is higher in the urban area.”

A group of students from Cabin John Middle School (pictured above) analyzed water samples in their project “Chesapeake Bay Water Testing Project of the Bay and the Potomac Area: a Comparative Study.”

Quince Orchard High School student Kristin Foringer was honored for her project “Discovering Ecological Impairments in Seneca Creek through a Systematic Study of Habitat Biology and Chemistry.”.

Other honored projects included “Water and Soil Sample Collection on the Watts Branch,” by Emma Johnson of Wayside Elementary and Genny Johnson of Christ Episcopal School and “Keeping the Barrens Barren,” by Julie Sherbill of Herbert Hoover Middle school.

“West Montgomery strongly believes that out environment and the protection of our environment is an important part of our area,” said Ginny Barnes, a member of West Montgomery.