Saint Peter Public Schools

Saint Peter High School ninth grade science students in Mr. Borslien’s class made the trek down to the Highway 99 bridge over the Minnesota River earlier this week to gain some valuable hands-on scientific experience. 

“We were doing some monitoring of the Minnesota River with the Friends of the Minnesota River who run the Riverwatch program,” Mr. Borslien said about the students’ trip down to the river. “The program is funded through the MPCA (MN Pollution Control Agency). We collected water samples at the 99 bridge and tested for dissolved oxygen, nitrates, pH, temperature, turbidity (cloudiness), conductivity, and the height of the river.  We also described the riverbed and water quality in more general terms for usability, water color and bank descriptions. 

According to the Borslien, the data will eventually be added to MPCA's database monitoring river health in Minnesota.  It provides students with a chance to do a little field work and see some science data collection in action.   

“Hopefully, we will be able to look at the data in the future and ask questions about the health of our river and how human choices impact the river,” Mr. Borslien said. 

Above and below are some photo highlights from the students’ work at the Minnesota River.