Ecology Day students back on the scene

After a year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, seventh-grade students from Northbrook Junior High revisited Techny Prairie Park earlier this month for an annual school project.

Northbrook Junior High science teacher Mark Frye headed the Ecology Day excursion to Techny Prairie, a park maintained by the Northbrook Park District.

Except for the fall of 2020, junior high students have visited the prairie for this purpose for years.

Students rotated through four stations. They checked water samples looking for vertebrates and invertebrates, tested pond and river water for pH level and oxygen, removed invasive species and discussed conservation.

"I'm happy (the park district) was able to welcome us back so warmly and tell us we have such value to their operation," Mark Frye, the science teacher who organized the event, said in a news release.

The prairie restoration has had a lasting impact on the site, said Chris Ryerson, Northbrook Park District Grounds Supervisor.

"Even though this is only a few hours of work, (the students) manage to remove a pickup truck's worth of unwanted plants. One of the main invasive plants we are removing is Purple loosestrife. One plant can produce up to 500,000 seeds, so removing them is very important," he said

Science Teacher Amber Paull managed the vertebrae/invertebrate station, where students analyzed water taken from the river a few yards away.

"Did you see the crawfish?" she asked the students. "You don't see a lot of the small creatures this year because the crawfish is a large vertebrae and eats all the smaller ones. That means the river is very healthy because crawfish do not survive in polluted water."

The day leaves a lasting impact on the students as well, many of whom visit the park recreationally.

"I didn't know what exactly was here," said Mariella Popelmayer, looking up from the crawfish in a plastic tub. "It was fun to test the water."

Owen Weintraub said he will look differently at the purple flowers that speckle the meadow. "They said they were invasive."

"We pulled up three buckets of them," added classmate Lukas Erdbeer.