Today marked a major milestone for the students of the Scajaquada Creek Environmental Science Lab (SCESL) at McKinley High School. For the first time, our student scientists rolled up their sleeves and got hands-on with debris collected from a real storm drain—this one located in Rochester, NY.
While it wasn’t a local sample from Buffalo just yet, it served an important purpose: to introduce students to the procedures they’ll use throughout the 12-week CASCADE project. They began by carefully separating organic from non-organic materials, sorting and classifying what they found. From leaves and twigs to plastic wrappers and cigarette butts, the goal is clear—understand what’s flowing through our storm drains and ultimately into the Great Lakes.
This work is part of CASCADE – Community Action for Stormwater Clean-up And Debris Elimination, a collaborative research initiative powered by RIT, UB, NYS Sea Grant, McKinley High School, and Tapestry Charter School. Over the next two months, students will conduct field investigations, collect and analyze real-world data, and use their findings to inform policy recommendations for reducing pollution in our freshwater ecosystems.
By the end of the program, these students won’t just be collecting data—they’ll be creating change.
Stay tuned as SCESL students continue their journey, turning local environmental challenges into opportunities for discovery, advocacy, and action.
