MVS science students take first at competition

Courtesy Photo APES winners Elijah Roberts, McKensie Innes, Ethan Volkman and Leo Glenn take water samples along Saguache Creek.

SAGUACHE— The Rio Grande International Study Center (RGISC) recently congratulated Mountain Valley Advanced Placement Environmental Science (APES) class for their contributions in making the ninth Rio Research Roundup a successful event.
Every October, as part of Dia del Rio, RGISC hosts the Rio Research Roundup in which 2,000 to 2,500 students from the United States and Mexico test the waters of the Rio Grande or one of its tributaries. We also have competing teams from smaller Texas watersheds that also empty into the Gulf of Mexico.
Four MVS students placed first in the Video category: Elijah Roberts, McKensie Innes, Ethan Volkman and Leo Glenn. Their video included water quality data gathered from Saguache Creek in October. Mountain Valley has been participating in the study for four years under the direction of Mrs. Morfitt.
This year there were 78 participating schools from Colorado to Brownsville/Matamoros testing for nitrogen, PH, dissolved oxygen, and nitrate among other water quality parameters. Through their field observations, student teams submitted data, essays, short videos, and elaborate pieces of art and well-developed Public Service Announcements.
For nearly a decade, the Roundup has become a fall staple for veteran schools like CBTIS 128 from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua and Hot Springs High School from Truth or Consequences, N.M., which continue to raise the bar for competitive standards for all returning and newcomer teams.
This year, RGISC welcomed a record number of newcomer schools. Seven Matamoros, Tamaulipas students attended under the direction of Chemist Israel Adrian Blanco Cruz, who went to great lengths to have the Mexican Navy present during the water monitoring. In the U.S., nine new teams emerged from the Santa Fe, N.M. area in addition to Navajo Preparatory School from Farmington, N.M., which tested the waters of the San Juan tributary.
Meanwhile, smaller Texas basins were well-represented by schools in Lasara and Santa Perlita, and we also saw a return by our Best of Country Winner 2017 — Sacred Heart Catholic School of Hallettsville, Texas.
This year, as the organization prepares for its 25th anniversary, RGISC is also honored to begin the process of embarking on our 10th installment of this unique basin-wide project. It is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019 as we continue this wonderful journey of environmental advocacy, river awareness and love for one of the greatest heritage rivers in the Western Hemisphere.
Good luck next year, Mountain Valley, and congratulations for a great video this year.