In mid-June, Year 9 students put on their gumboots and old clothes and headed off to Mary Dixon Park to test the water in Bells Creek.

Working alongside scientists from EOS Ecology and the University of Canterbury, our students began a programme to learn about E. coli and to undertake sampling of the waterway. Eleven other schools in Canterbury are participating in this programme, Linwood being the only high school. Environmental factors were measured, water samples were collected and then taken to the university where the bacteria E. coli were grown. 

Photos of the colonies present were sent back to our students for counting. This number gives an indication of the health of the stream, the amount of faecal matter entering the waterway and end use of the water. We look forward to collecting further samples during the year. 

Many thanks to Kirsty Brennan and her colleagues from EOS Ecology who run the Nature Agents programme and Brigetta Kurenbeckfrom the School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury for their time and support. We are looking forward to working with them over the next few years.