When you turn the handle on your sink facet to get a drink of water, the first thing on your mind may not be, “What is in this water?”

For the students at Isabella High School, finding out what is in the local waterways has become a yearlong project. Science teacher Jay LeCroy has been working with his students to help further their education by doing hands on instead of just making them do bookwork in a classroom.

“You can sit and teach students the vocabulary and let them memorize words, or you can let them get out in the field and participate in real life situations to show them just how important what they are learning about is to them,” LeCroy said.

The students have learned how to do things like check the temperature of the water, the pH levels of the water and even check the amount of oxygen that is in the water. The students have been enjoying the time that they spend out by Mulberry Creek and have formed a group called the Isabella Water Watchers. They are now a volunteer monitor group for Alabama Water Works.

The students were given this opportunity through donations, which bought them new supplies including their water testing kits.

LeCroy said he is hoping that the school can get more donations to purchase new kits that can test for bacteria in the water. He gets his equipment and supplies through Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI).

The school is going to continue to study the water surrounding the school for years to come in order to keep an eye on how out local environment is changing and how the water is affecting it.

“We are a real volunteer group for the Alabama Water Works Program and so that means we will be turning in our stats to the state to be recorded. So these students are truly working and making a difference,” LeCroy said.