MAY 27,2015 • CLACKAMAS PRINT
3
Campus battles run-off toxins
Students working in the Environmental Learning Center are
green with resolve to keep things clean
Story by Megan McCoy
Hidden on the far end of campus, near the Bea
vercreek Road exit, lies the Environmental Learning
Center. Not many people have seen it, or know where
it is, but some students are getting hands-on expe
rience working through horticulture and water-en-
vironntal technology classes offered at Clackamas
Community College.
CCC Foundation Executive Director Greg Fitzgerald
said that through a mini grant from the foundation,
the water and environmental technology department
purchased monitoring equipment for students to use.
The equipment is in use now in the ELC and provides
students with information on baseline data about
flows and water quality.
Department of Engineering Science Chair and water
and environmental technology instructor, Jim Nurmi’s
classes have just started working in the ELC this year
to help clean the water that flows into Newell Creek.
Nurmi explained that 50 percent of the storm drain
water from CCC flows into the ELC as well as water
from Oregon City High School. So anything on the
ground when it starts to rain flows into the ELC, which
damages the environment. Nurmi’s classes focus on
cleaning that up.
“Oil, gasoline, organic contaminantsj Cheetos, you
know. Whatever’s in the parking lot that runs off,"
Nurmi explained. Nurmi’s classes have also recently
been working on water quality tests.
gineering. Another handy tool with the GPS and GIS
systems is the ability to assess the health of the trees.
“If you could see that this tree has a big rotten
spot in the middle of it and it might come crashing
down in the next big wind storm, then we want to
take that one out regardless of what kind of tree it
is,” Harber said. This was the first time many of her
students had used a GPS system for something hor
ticulture-related. Harber said that several students
were interested in taking a class about that subject,
so that’s what they’re going to do in order to “give
students new learning opportunities by being involved
in what’s going on at the ELC."
The next project horticulture will be working on is
propagating in the places where invasive plants are
taken out.
“After we take out the junk stuff that we don’t want
“We measure dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, con-
ductivityall very typical water quality parameters,” anymore, we’re going to have to put the good plants
Nurmi said. Horticulture Department Chair Renee back in," Harber said. “A lot of those will be water
Harber said that her department has been working plants, growing in the water or around the water's
on improving the ELC for years. Harber’s horticulture edge because that’s going to help filter the water as
classes have been teaming up with Nurmi, using GPS it moves through. I just want to make sure that we
systems to find the exact locations of the trees and keep the whole process educational for our students,
create a map for the design team who consists of, by giving them real-world projects to work on is a
Yost Grube Hall architects, Pacific Habitat Services, great way to educate them. So as long as we can do
Lango Hansen Landscape Architects and KPFF En that, then I’m happy.”
“ Oil, gasoline, organic
contaminants, Cheetos,
you know. Whatever’s
in the parking lot
that runs off.”
-Jim Nurmi