Teens take science lesson at Mount St. Helens

From Seattle PO: Teens take science lesson at Mount St. Helens
LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — Keith Reitz woke up at 4 a.m. Tuesday, eager for the chance to visit Mount St. Helens for the first time.

Five hours and two bus trips later, the Naselle High School sophomore was standing near the banks of Coldwater Lake, testing nitrogen levels of water samples taken from the 200-foot deep water body the volcano created 31 years ago.

He seemed indifferent to the swirling winds, the driving rain and the fact that the volcano was completely hidden by the clouds.

"It's kind of cool thinking how much this place has changed in this little amount of time," the 15-year old said.

Reitz and about 30 other students from a half-dozen local high schools are participating in a pilot program that introduces them to science-related careers. Paid for by a federal grant and organized by the Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council, the program mainly targets students who have shown an interest in careers in science, math or technology. The U.S. Department of Labor anticipates demand for workers in those fields will increase 70 percent in just three years.

Reitz, who is taking biology this semester at Naselle, said he's considered pursuing a career in ecology, possibly studying rivers.

"Science has always been my strong suit," Rietz said. "I wanted to come out here and see what scientists do and see if that's what I want to do as a career."

That's one of the messages that scientists, rangers and volunteers were hoping to get across Tuesday, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Ken Sandusky. The Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey and Mount St. Helens Institute teamed up to offer about six hours of teaching and hands-on activities in the blast zone.

Tuesday was day one of the two-day program. Students will gather at a Lower Columbia College science lab to study soil and water samples taken from the volcano blast zone and to compare them with samples collected from the Longview area.

At Coldwater Lake, Forest Service Ranger David Butler showed students how to test water samples to indicate whether water might be suitable for drinking or agricultural use, or whether a lake might sustain a healthy fish population.

Just off the Hummocks Trail, Forest Service scientist Peter Frenzen described how plant life has rebounded near the trail, which traverses billions of tons of debris that tumbled off the volcano during its eruption on May 18, 1980. He showed students how to study a plot of land to accurately determine the density of a particular type of plant.

"They learn about science concepts in high school, but they don't really see where it applies," said Mary Brown, the workforce council's director of strategic initiatives. "This shows them what you can do."

Nearly one-third of the students were visiting Mount St. Helens for the first time, organizers said.

The event was funded with a portion of a $2 million Department of Labor grant the workforce council received in 2009. It is aimed at preparing workers for jobs that require science, technology, math or engineering skills. Last year, the group organized a technology-focused workshop at Lower Columbia College. The grant money is spread out to offer programs at high schools throughout Southwest Washington and parts of Oregon.

The three-year grant runs out after this year, but the workforce council hopes to find other funding to make the program an annual offering, Brown said.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to continue this," she said.

For Reitz, the Naselle student, the experience gave him a different view of science and scientists.

"I'm seeing that they're not always just sitting in labs," he said.