St. Louis Community College students enrolled in an introductory biology class learned firsthand how litter can damage the ecosystem.
The students, who take a class taught by Zoe Geist at the South County Education and University Center (SCEUC), cleaned up the creek July 9 behind SCEUC, at 4115 Meramec Bottom Road in south St. Louis County.
Students were joined by two Missouri Stream Team volunteers. Brian Waldrop, assistant to the coordinator of the St. Louis region's Stream Team, brought a trailer to take away the trash, debris and old tires collected.
"I want my students to see for themselves the real problem of litter in streams, to help with the community service of cleaning out the trash from the creek behind SCEUC, to relate the problem of litter in the stream to the ecosystem they live in, and make plans to take actions to address the litter problem in their neighborhood," Geist said.
The creek cleanup was part of a service learning project within the class.