The Amsterdam High School Adventure Club recently participated in A Day in the Life of the Mohawk River, a regional environmental science event that connects students with the ecosystems in their own communities.
Students met at Shuttleworth Park to study the North Chuctanunda Creek alongside Professor Barbara Brabetz from SUNY Cobleskill, representatives from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Fisheries Department, and volunteers from Friends of North Chuctanunda Inc. Together, they gathered real-world data on water quality, aquatic life, and stream health while learning how local waterways contribute to the larger Mohawk River watershed.
The regional event takes place at multiple sites across the Mohawk River basin each year. Its goal is to engage students in citizen science and promote awareness of how daily actions affect watershed health. For the Adventure Club, the experience provided an opportunity to connect classroom learning with practical fieldwork and environmental stewardship.
For sophomore Keira Kwak, the project offered a personal perspective. Keira lives along the Chuctanunda Creek and often walks beside it, but this time she had the opportunity to study it more closely.
“Testing the water made me realize how much human activity affects the health of the Chuctanunda,” Kwak said.
Photo of Keira in action