Field Study

Megan Steciw Environmental Stewardship, Experiential Learning, Science and Math No Comments

Have you wondered what is the quality of our water and soil in the city? The students in Environmental Science actively performed water testing at the waterfront and soil testing in the parkette beside the YMCA! The students enjoyed collecting the samples, especially the water sample from Lake Ontario. We were surprised at the results we received for the oxygen levels at the waterfront. The results were either invalid or Lake Ontario is heavily polluted since we received a reading of 0ppm. The students factored into their results that we were testing near the shoreline where human pollution collects including microplastics and boat oil. A low amount of oxygen suggests that the water ecosystem is unhealthy. The students have also been engaging in possible solutions by investigating local and global environments. The students observed that there is “too much construction” in our city.

At the lakefront, the students also investigated the levels of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium in the soil collected from the parkette. The students can be seen in the photographs performing chemical analysis of the soil samples. “We got good results,” said an environmentalist in training! The students were fascinated by the unique opportunity to engage in a field study in their local community! One student expressed:

“We could not have picked a better day. It was not raining. It was sunny.”

As we continued our field study, we compared the disturbed location (heavy human traffic area) to an undisturbed location (limited human traffic area). What area did we choose? The Green Industries terrace! We wanted to determine how healthy the soil is where the Green Industries class is growing plants and vegetables. If nutrients are too high, nutrients can become contaminants! What were the results? The students are still actively comparing the data though, most intriguing, nitrogen was high in the disturbed environment. Nitrogen is a common ingredient in fertilizers. Another student shared:

“We learned a lot about our city and the biodiversity.”

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A visit from the Toronto Wildlife Centre

Megan Steciw Experiential Learning, Science and Math No Comments

The Grade 9 Science class was joined by the Toronto Wildlife Centre! The students examined their relationship with wildlife in the city learning about how the TWC rescues and releases diverse animals back into our wild city.

In the pictures, the students were asked questions where they had to take a thoughtful position: agree, disagree or neutral. The questions related to wildlife in the city. The students then learned about how our built environment impacts the habitats of wildlife from coyotes to songbirds. We often do not stop to reflect that Toronto is a giant ecosystem with micro-habitats. Did you know that the reflection of trees on windows can be mistaken for trees? Check-out this article from TWC for more information on how to protect our bird populations from window collisions.

The students thoughtfully engaged and many asked about opportunities to volunteer at the TWC! The TWC serves an important community need and we were incredibly grateful for the program they delivered.

Satellites in Space – Designing Spacecraft

Megan Steciw Experiential Learning, Science and Math No Comments

The Grade 9s were treated to a special visit from NASA (Wallops Visitor Center – big thank-you!). The students participated in the program MISSION EXPLORERS: DESIGN A SPACECRAFT.

Together the Grade 9s mission was to design spacecraft that would study the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of earth. NASA guided the students step-by-step on how to design a spacecraft beginning with a review of the different types of space technology such as rovers, scientific balloons, and satellites. The students then decided the power source for the spacecraft and the scientific instrument such as a camera or magnetometer. The students also incorporated a communication device to send signals to earth! The students chose between an antenna and an orbiter relay system. The students were ready to sketch their own spacecraft design!

After our visit, the students transformed their designs into 3-D models! During cross-curricular, the students are learning about climate change from space. The satellites in space collect important information about the planet we live on together including how our environment is experiencing pattern shifts. The students carefully thought about how to build their satellites, questioning how to attach antenna and robotic arms that can collect samples. The students experimented with a variety of materials from cardboard to clay to sponges to popsicle sticks imagining what they could be! The spacecraft reflect a diversity of applied design ideas! Next stop, SPACE!

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Pepto Bismol Lab

Megan Steciw Experiential Learning, Science and Math No Comments

The students actively extracted bismuth metal from pepto bismol tablets. A soft metal that has similar properties to lead, pepto bismol is widely used in medicine and cosmetics though does not have a specific medical purpose! Bismuth actually helps with the absorption of fluid across the intestinal wall!

To isolate the Bismuth metal, the students combined Pepto Bismol and HCl (hydrochloric acid). Students then filtered the solution. Student then pondered: “Hmmm… we have bismuth chloride…” We put aluminum in the solution to form Aluminum chloride allowing the Bismuth to precipitate out of solution. The students watched in incredible amazement as the Bismuth formed immediately as these little black dots in solution! We filtered and fired the bismuth sample. The students extracted 3.2g of bismuth from 96 Pepto Bismol tablets.

WoW! One student shared that this was a great experiment!

The students asked careful questions throughout as they extracted a solid from a solution. Incredible!

We got to extract an element!
We experimented with stomach medication
We turned a medication into an element!
We did science!

Extracting and isolating DNA from strawberry cells

Megan Steciw Experiential Learning, Science and Math No Comments


What is DNA? DNA is a molecule that contains the genetic code for our proteins. The students in the Grade 11 Biology class were actively lysing strawberry cells to extract and isolate DNA from the nuclei of strawberry cells. The scientists in training first used detergent to break into the cell membrane then lastly used ethanol alcohol to precipitate the DNA from solution. A sample of DNA was collected and observed under the microscope. The students recorded many observations while asking several inquiry questions throughout the DNA investigation. Everyone has been investigating the genetic code and the experiment was a great opportunity to observe DNA in living cells.