St. Thomas Aquinas High School Grade: 11 Rabbit Lake, Kenora, ON. Teacher: Martin Straight

Watershed Inquiry

The Environmental Science class at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dive A Little Deeper Kenora, Ontario has been studying the movement of water within their local environment and testing the water quality in various areas Students at St. Thomas Aquinas have throughout the Rabbit Lake watershed. They have collected over 60 also shown an interest in invasive samples, testing for pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and nitrate levels. plant removal. In addition, their investigations will cover phosphate levels, macroinvertebrate assessments and indicators of invasive species. Ontario Invasive Plants http://www.ontarioinvasiveplants.c While the class is extremely focused on learning scientific methods to a/files/GMI_Booklet_spreads_2011 determine the health of their watershed, they are also interested in _Final_web.pdf coordinating community events and connecting with local stakeholders. They planned an Earth Day challenge for their school and hosted experts How to Combat Invasive Species from organizations such as the Experimental Lakes Area to speak to https://www.ontario.ca/page/how- students. you-can-combat-invasive-species

Rabbit Lake is located east of in the District of Nipissing.

It is a large “Y” shaped lake and has a single basin.

Water flows to the Matabitchuan River through the dam on Outlet Bay.

Major fish species include lake , , smallmouth bass, pike, whitefish, cisco and yellow .

Students collecting water samples - St. Thomas Aquinas High School

The Experimental Lakes Area

The Experimental Lakes Area in Northwestern Ontario is enthusiastic about getting involved with school groups at a high school and post- secondary level, offering field courses that cover environmental science, limnology, chemistry, the whole-ecosystem concept and more.

Thank you to our Volunteer writer Valerie Manica