JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There are numerous waterways here on the First Coast, and they are all interconnected. So it’s important to understand how this all works. JAXPORT along with Jacksonville University donated a new resource apart of the St. Johns River Education Initiative to Mayport Middle Coastal Science Academy to learn about a new resource to teach our next generation about our important water resource.
Beth McCague, the Chief Financial Officer and Chief of Staff "Today we are out here at the middle school science lab to watch the kids use the model to use the model to learn about the aquifer and how us as human beings we interact for the positive or negative with the river."
This tool is called an Enviroscape, it’s a hands on 3d model that gives students a unique view on the river. The instructor leading a discussion with this model uses different basic kitchen items to represent pollutions. This ranges from fertilizer to microplastics represented by Kool Aid Powder to sprinkles on the model. Once the pollutions are added a rain storm is simulated with water bottles and students can see where pollutants end up. Not only on the surface but also below ground.
Gavin Meshinsky a Mayport Middle student noted “You can’t touch the words on a page but you can actually do everything according to that and simulate different things. It’s helpful to actually know what's going on."
Dr. Melinda Simmons, Jacksonville University associate professor of marine science led the instruction stated, “the watershed model looks a lot like Jacksonville, so it has a port, agriculture, resorts, golf and industry and homes with septic and gas stations – all thing things we have. So when I involve students and adults, they get into it too they can own it and think about their own backyards and things they do to impact the environment.”
If you want to use this resource in your classroom you can visit this website on the St. Johns river. There are 4 models available in the Duval County School System.
Overall the model may seem simple, but sometimes that is the best way to explain something very important like our local water resources.