The Watershed Access Lab (WAL) at Bridgewater State University offers courses to train educators on current technology used in watershed assessment. These courses promote watershed assessment as a tool in environmental education and watershed stewardship. The WAL courses and student projects emphasize hands on training in water quality assessment using computerized water quality monitoring, macroinvertebrates as bio indicators of river health and the use of ArcView GIS. The project goal is to evaluate the land use impacts on water quality in the participating school district's community. In the spring, following each team's project completion, the Watershed Access Lab Seminar takes place at Bridgewater State University where school teams present the results of their watershed investigations.
Submissions from 2005
Cleaning the Quequechan River (Kuss Middle School, Fall River, Massachusetts)
Comparative Study of Leonard Washburn Brook and Poquoy Brook (Apponequet Regional High School, Lakeville, Massachusetts)
Eel River Examination II (Plymouth South Middle School, Plymouth, Massachusetts)
How Polluted is West Meadow Brook? (Brockton High School, Brockton, Massachusetts)
Indian Head River Project (Whitman-Hanson Regional High School, Whitman, Massachusetts)
Introduction to Long Pond (Apponequet Regional High School, Lakeville, Massachusetts)
Long Pond Five Site Study (Apponequet Regional High School, Lakeville, Massachusetts)
Long Pond Replication Study (Apponequet Regional High School, Lakeville, Massachusetts)
Macro Invertebrates of Kirby Brook (Westport High School, Westport, Massachusetts)
Mussel Mania (Apponequet Regional High School, Lakeville, Massachusetts)
Preliminary Survey of Rattlesnake Brook (Apponequet Regional High School, Lakeville, Massachusetts)
RiverNet Watershed Access Lab Program Overview, Kevin Curry and Kim McCoy
Seasonal Changes in an Intermittent Stream (Hanson Middle School, Hanson, Massachusetts)
Second Herring Brook: An Analysis of Our Watershed (Norwell High School, Norwell, Massachusetts)
The Effect of Autumn Leaf Drop on Water Quality at Turner's Pond Outlet (Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical School, New Bedford, Massachusetts)
The Loon Pond Experience (Apponequet Regional High School, Lakeville, Massachusetts)
The Runnins Report (Seekonk High School, Seekonk, Massachusetts)
The Taunton River's Last Major Tributary: Chemical Analysis of a Freshwater Dam System in the Upper Assonet River (Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School, Bridgewater, Massachusetts)
The Ten Mile River Study (North Attleborough High School, North Attleborough, Massachusetts)
Submissions from 2004
A Closer Look: Second Herring Brook (Norwell High School, Norwell, Massachusetts)
An Initial Study of Town Brook, West Yarmouth, MA (Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts)
Assonet River: Foaming at the Mouth (Apponequet Regional High School, Lakeville, Massachusetts)
A Water Quality Study of the Braintree Farm River (Braintree High School, Braintree, Massachusetts)
Do We See Feces?: Loon Pond 2003-2004 (Apponequet Regional High School, Lakeville, Massachusetts)
Eel River Examination (Plymouth South Middle School, Plymouth, Massachusetts)
Effects of Runoff from Downtown Middleboro on the Nemasket River (Middleborough High School, Middleborough, Massachusetts)
Friedman's Bugwatch Water Quality Study - An Update (Friedman Middle School, Taunton, Massachusetts)
Hanson Riverwater III: Indian Head River Study Year 3 (Hanson Middle School, Hanson, Massachusetts)
How does Land Use Affect the Chemistry of the Water of Fall Brook (Middleborough High School, Middleborough, Massachusetts)
Marina Bay: A Glimpse at the Neponset River Watershed (Atlantic Middle School, North Quincy, Massachusetts)
Milfoil: Man's Best Friend (Apponequet Regional High School, Lakeville, Massachusetts)
Monitoring Water Levels of the Headwaters of the Jones River (Silver Lake Regional High School, Kingston, Massachusetts)
Ten Mile River Study (North Attleborough High School, North Attleborough, Massachusetts)
The Agawam River Study (St. Margaret Regional School, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts)
The Quequechan River Project: A Study of the Effects of Burying a River Underground (Kuss Middle School, Fall River, Massachusetts)
Third Herring Brook Watershed (Norwell High School, Norwell, Massachusetts)
Turbidity: An In-depth Look at Long Pond (Apponequet Regional High School, Lakeville, Massachusetts)
Submissions from 2003
Climate Impact Study of Snow’s Brook, Bridgewater, Massachusetts (Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School, Bridgewater, Massachusetts)
How Has Land Use Affected the Water Quality of Fall Brook (Middleborough High School, Middleborough, Massachusetts)
Restoring a Saltwater Ecosystem – Studying Midge Larvae Populations (Provincetown High School, Provincetown, Massachusetts)
Submissions from 2002
Agawam River Study (St. Margaret’s Regional Middle School, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts)
Cochato River Study (Holbrook Junior-Senior High School, Holbrook, Massachusetts)
Indian Head River Study (Hanson Middle School, Hanson, Massachusetts)
The Effects of the Swan Pond Housing Development on the Long Pond Herring Run (Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts and Mattacheese Middle School, West Yarmouth, Massachusetts)
Submissions from 2001
Agricultural Land Use and Water Quality on Sally Richmond Brook (Bristol Agricultural High School, Dighton, Massachusetts)
Drinkwater River Study (Hanover Middle School, Hanover, Massachusetts)
Evaluation of Sunken Brook, Dighton, Massachusetts (Bristol Agricultural High School, Dighton, Massachusetts)
Long Pond Study 2000-2001 (Apponequet Regional High School, Lakeville, Massachusetts)