By Mark Boshnack
A research effort directed by several Sidney science teachers continues to pay dividends.
The sixth annual Upper Susquehanna Watershed Project Conference on Wednesday presented summer research from many of the student interns that work for the program.
The session was held in the community room at Sidney High School.
The project is a collaborative effort between participating high schools along the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from Cooperstown to Afton, according to one its founders, physics teacher Rich Townsend.
Other schools involved include Afton, Bainbridge-Guilford, Cooperstown, Gilberstville-Mount Upton and Unatego central schools, and the Oneonta City School District.
Six of the eight interns are from Sidney but the internships are open to students throughout the area.
It is funded by a grant from MeadWestvaco, a Sidney manufacturer, with support from private sources.
The work has expanded into flood monitoring and prediction project with the help of a grant from State Farm Insurance. Other teachers involved are biology teacher Robyn Haskin, earth science teacher David Teitelbaum and chemistry teacher Victoria Harris.
The Wednesday session consisted of students giving PowerPoint presentations on their research.
This included junior, Annie Pysnik, who talked about her findings on the effects of thunderstorms on the acidity of rainfall.
The storms caused rainfall to become slightly more acidic because lightening strikes produce nitrates, she said.
Speaking afterwards, she said the work she has been involved with since she was a freshman made her realize the opportunities the school provides.
She expected to pursue a career in communications and has found the opportunity for public speaking to be valuable.
Senior Jeff Olson and junior Justin Bartz gave a presentation on work outside water issues.
They examined the relationship between luminosity and voltage output of a photovoltaic cell.
Bartz said this is his second year with the program.
The experience has given him a good idea about what research will be like when he continues his studies in either science or technology.
Other students presenting included senior Zach Smith and Luke Hansen.
Not presenting were juniors Samantha War from Sidney and two students from Bainbridge-Guilford high school, Mike Mertz and Cody Davy.
Among those watching was Jeffrey Lape, director of the Chesapeake Bay Program for the Environmental Protection Agency. Lape said he was impressed by what he saw.
"This is the next generation embracing the principals of watershed management," he said.
It is important that they understand the science and how it affects their own backyard, he said.
"I saw a lot of good work being done," said Peter Freehafer, Chesapeake Bay Program Coordinator for the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
These kinds of local endeavors are important, he said.
