Elementary students travel to Olympia to discuss pollutants in Spokane River
Jan. 29—When Regal Elementary students learned about contaminants in the Spokane River, they knew they wanted to raise awareness.
"There's toxic chemicals, and heavy metals in the Spokane River at Boulder Beach," fifth-grader Oona Gonzalez said. "And we have to fix it."
So they researched the issue, identified solutions and traveled to Olympia this week to make their case to state lawmakers and advocate for funding.
"We are writing to you as a concerned group of students, regarding a pressing environmental and public health issue: the contamination of the Spokane River with lead, particularly in the area around Boulder Beach, where many of us swim and enjoy recreational activities," Regal Elementary students Oona , Chase Scheele, Skyler Curtis and Taige Boyer wrote in a letter to Washington legislators.
The letter, and project, were part of the Environmental and Sustainability Literacy Student Summit organized by the Pacific Education Institute, which brought students from across Washington to the state capitol this week to present on climate and education-related topics.
The students were among four groups to present in front of the more than 100 educators, students and school personnel who attended the summit this week.
"That was good. It was fun, but it was also scary at the same time," fifth-grader Skyler said.
Teacher Lucas Trunkey said the project offered the chance to highlight an issue that hits close to home and show his students how they can make change.
"Boulder Beach is our family park," Trunkey said Wednesday. "It's the only outside area where we can swim safely in Spokane."
The project, which the students presented Tuesday, highlights the importance of the beach to Spokane and notes that it's ideal for swimming and easily accessible to nearby residential areas. But, according to their presentation, the Spokane River has elevated levels of PCBs, heavy metals and other chemicals, a problem that dates back to a mining boom upstream from Spokane more than 100 years ago.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, were used by a variety of industries before they were banned in 1979. In November, the agency released "pollution budgets" to reduce amounts in the Spokane and Little Spokane Rivers.
The project highlights many of the potential risks of exposure to the contaminants and offers solutions to improve the water quality, which includes reverse osmosis, or filtering the water.
But the students offered another solution: phytoremediation, a process of using plants to clean dirty water and soil.
"You put plants in the water, and it absorbs all of the toxins," Skyler said. "They break them up."
The project highlights some of the groups working to clean the Spokane River, including the Spokane Riverkeeper, the Spokane River Forum and the Washington State Department of Ecology.
During their visit to the Capitol, the students briefly met with State Rep. Jenny Graham, R-Spokane, in her office to deliver a binder full of their research, potential solutions and suggestions on how to implement the fixes.
Graham, who took an interest in the students' research and encouraged them to discuss the problem with other Spokane-area legislators, told the group "It is so cool to see you guys here in Olympia."
"This is a little bit of homecoming to Olympia," Graham said.
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