Earth Day Event: Boneyard Creek Community Festival

Scott Park, Champaign, IL

On Earth Day 2006, UMS WaterWorks students celebrated by joining local volunteers to clean up Boneyard Creek in the morning and present their environmental research in Scott Park in the afternoon at the Boneyard Creek Community Festival. The students removed trash and invasive species from the creek as part of the cleanup. Then students then manned a booth at the festival and informed the public about the results of their research and the implications for the creek and the park. Visitors were engaged and impressed by the students dedication to community service and challenging research. Even the local city engineer stopped by to hear the student's concerns about the condition of the creek and the park. At the end of the day the students sampled the aquatic species in the creek with aquatic ecologist Tim Smith of the U of I.

(Left) UMS WaterWorks students; (Right) Sponsors of the Community Day (notice UMS)

(Left) An army of volunteers getting ready to fight trash in the Boneyard; (Right) Some of the trash in the Creek

(Left) Hard at work; (Right) Examining for invasive species

(Left) Invasive species removal ; (Right) Students talk with other volunteers about their environmental research

(Left) A student informs the public about surface water pollution; (Right) The day even included dancing and frisbee

Sampling in the local stream with aquatic ecologist Tim Smith of the U of I

Say Cheese!