To kick off Source to Estuary each year, we take a whirlwind driving tour from “source” (tributaries to our drinking water reservoir) to “estuary” (where drinking water pours back into the river after being treated at the wastewater treatment plant). We stop along the way to observe (listen, smell, look, touch), cultivating our ability to understand our habitat on multiple levels as we explore our drinking water infrastructure. These are skills we use both in the lab and in the field as we monitor water quality, assess ecological systems, and talk with the people who are invested in them. This year we started the tour with a conversation with Dr. Emilly Obuya, a chemistry professor and STEM education researcher. We talked with Dr. O about her water quality research and about how the scientific method applies to the work we do together at the lab.
