Using Local Water Resources for Environmental Education and Research

This chapter describes how various features of the "Muddy River" located in the Fenway/Longwood neighborhood of Boston have been used pedagogically in a variety of ways to engage students in environmental research and how that research activity has increased their appreciation of the local environment. The Muddy River's location makes this very modest river (about 3 miles in length and 50-100 feet across) a readily accessible research and educational resource for the faculty and students of many nearby educational institutions, including Simmons University. Several research projects and teaching experiments are described that employ different features of the Muddy River ecosystem-including its historic heritage, the water column, sediment, and biota. Students use a number of analytical techniques including X-ray fluorescence, GC-Mass spectrometry, Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, UV-visible spectrometry, and titration to study water quality, point source pollution and its impact on biodiversity, water remediation and biosorbents. This chapter is not meant to be a comprehensive literature review of possible experimentation and research opportunities that riverine bodies offer to undergraduates. What is perhaps more significant than the novelty of the research or experiments described in this chapter is rather an appreciation of the breadth of many opportunities that the Muddy River has offered for authentic research that links chemistry and the environment. It is the author's hope that this chapter offers a few ideas for collaborative research and teaching that other educators, who may have a similar available natural resource, can adapt to engage students in the environment. © 2020 American Chemical Society.