EPA BGREEN Program

Who’s involved:

Mrs. Suzanne Lenz (BGREEN Mentor Teacher, Columbia Public Schools)

Ben Shanker (BGREEN Undergraduate Intern, Shiu Lab)

Logan Decker, Ph.D.

The Shiu lab has teamed up with MU’s EPA BGREEN program to encourage science learning with an emphasis on understanding the importance of conservation issues such as climate change. Specifically, the 5th grade students at Midway Heights Elementary School have embarked on a project to survey the different types of fungi living on the school grounds. Fungi play an important role in “stealing” nitrogen from other microorganisms, which in turn prevents release of the green house gas, carbon dioxide. With this in mind, the students are interested in learning where fungi live, what species are present, and the effects of environmental change on the numbers/types of species present.

The following letter was sent to Midway Heights by the Shiu Lab: Midway Letter