Humphrey Middle School science teacher Mike Stoehrmann wasn’t on a “pleasure cruise” on Lake Michigan for a week in July, but was chosen to participate with a group of scientists aboard the research vessel Lake Guardian to study water contaminants and pollution in the lake.
Humphrey Middle School science teacher Mike Stoehrmann wasn’t on a “pleasure cruise” on Lake Michigan for a week in July, but was chosen to participate with a group of scientists aboard the research vessel Lake Guardian to study water contaminants and pollution in the lake.
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Stoehrmann is using his experience at the Bolingbrook school to educate students in the classroom about water contamination and pollution issues.
Stoehrmann focused on plastic contaminants found on top and under the lake floor while other researchers aboard the vessel studied the impact that invasive specials, like zebra mussels, are having on the lake.
“We found microbeads in the water and the sediment, which are just multi-colored tiny plastic beads that are in face washes and other cosmetic products,” Stoehrmann said. “It’s kind of crazy that something that tiny is being washed away down the drain and ending up in the lake.”
He said that researchers have also learned that certain bacteria can live on the plastic beads, which can move around and spread around the Great Lakes system.
In 2014, former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation banning the manufacture and sale of products containing synthetic plastic microbeads beginning in 2017.
Stoehrmann also found other plastics, such as clear plastic films, which he and researchers believe may be coming from dishwasher detergent pods. A non-plastic contaminant the researchers found was small strings that probably came from garments.
“I never thought about it, but strings must be falling off clothing in the washer machine, then go down the drain,” Stoehrmann said.
In the coming weeks and months ahead, Stoehrmann plans to teach some of what he learned in his science classes and science club. Using a grant, Stoehrmann purchased equipment that will allow students at the middle school to visit local waterways, take water samples and analyze them for contaminants and pollutants.
“One of my main goals is to inform my students and the public that things don’t disappear when they go down the drain,” Stoehrmann said. “It’s important to understand that these contaminants and pollution go right back into the same water that we drink.”
Stoehrmann was one of 15 educators chosen from more than 60 applicants to work alongside four scientists from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Great Lakes National Program Office, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Loyola University Chicago. The research project was funded by various grants including an Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) and a grant from the EPA.
“Educators were immersed in authentic, place-based learning, working side by side with scientists to address current environmental issues,” said Terri Hallesy, IISG education coordinator in a statement. “Using innovative sampling and monitoring equipment, teachers were provided with once-in-a-lifetime professional development experience to explore science up-close and personal.”
Joseph Ruzich is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.
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