For students studying chemistry, some level of hands-on learning is generally a given. Lab work is an essential part of the subject, and students can often expect opportunities to don a pair of goggles and recreate the chemical reactions they鈥檝e read about in textbooks.
Even more impactful than seeing these reactions up close is a chance to apply them outside of the classroom.
In winter quarter 2025, students in a 糖心vlog视频 course, Special Topics in Chemistry: Aqueous Environmental Chemistry, got to do just that. And while students expected to walk away with a working knowledge of water chemistry, they didn鈥檛 know they鈥檇 be partnering with the campus Office of Sustainability on real-world projects.
For Sasha Kroshkina, a junior majoring in Chemistry with a concentration in Biochemistry, the collaboration was a bonus. 鈥淚 was really interested in learning about water chemistry and how solubility and solutions work,鈥 she said, 鈥渂ut it was a happy surprise that we ended up having this big community component and this lab component where we did weekly water testing.
鈥淚t was a really great experience.鈥
Learnings from afar
An associate teaching professor in UW Bothell鈥檚 School of STEM, Dr. Charity Lovitt is passionate about the value of community-based learning. She鈥檇 previously incorporated community-engaged projects in her Discovery Core Experience courses, geared toward first-year and pre-major students.
鈥淪eeing the impact those projects had for first-year students, I really wanted to replicate that experience for our Chemistry majors,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 know firsthand how impactful those experiences can be. They can be really motivating and stimulate deep learning 鈥 and send you on new directions in your career.鈥
The idea to create a new chemistry course focused on water and aqueous environments is something she credits to her time in Qatar, where she taught as a U.S. Fulbright scholar in 2023 and learned about chemistry specific to water treatment.
When Lovitt reached out to the Office of Connected Learning to identify possible partners for the course, the campus鈥 own Office of Sustainability seemed like a perfect fit, offering both easy access and a means for students to see the impact of their work up close and over time.
Lovitt worked with Shahrzad Tehrani, sustainability coordinator, and on the first day of class Tehrani presented students with several project options. Together, the class selected two 鈥 a stormwater sampling project and a water conservation workshop that could be used for community outreach and engagement.
Supporting campus sustainability
In support of sustainability goals set by the shared UW Bothell-Cascadia College campus, the Stormwater Management Program monitors several sampling points to collect data, reduce pollution and protect water quality. Over the quarter, students joined David Tinto, Cascadia College stormwater technician, for hands-on experience in stormwater sampling techniques, proper field protocols and lab testing methods.
鈥淭he data and samples collected by the students play an important role in supporting the campus鈥 environmental goals and regulatory compliance,鈥 Tinto said. 鈥淭his information helps identify potential sources of pollution, track trends in water quality over time and evaluate the effectiveness of current stormwater management practices. Additionally, involving students in this process fosters a campus culture of environmental responsibility and hands-on learning.鈥
The students collected weekly samples from six sites around campus, which they then tested for different water quality criteria, such as E. coli, dissolved oxygen and pollutants. As the sampling took place over an entire quarter, students were also able to see how weather and other events affected their results.
鈥淚 thought it was really interesting how our data collection could pull some knowledge from previous sampling as we went and connect it to different certain results,鈥 said Jaci Chiang, a junior majoring in Chemistry. 鈥淲e could also see when there were major changes, like when it was snowing and there was salt on the roads or rain contributing to runoff, so I really enjoyed connecting all the different components together.鈥
Then, during the second part of the quarter, the class got to work creating a workshop that the Office of Sustainability could use as a tool for educational outreach about water issues and conservation.
“I鈥檓 just really thankful that I took this class, where I got to work with a community partner and have the opportunity to teach other people, while also learning myself.鈥
Jaci Chiang, junior, Chemistry
Communicating science concepts
Lovitt had experience working with Pacific Science Center on similar community education formats and shared resources with students on how to best approach informal learning for various audiences.
鈥淲e do some outreach and tabling in the community where we want to engage people on sustainability themes,鈥 Tehrani said, 鈥渟o this was a mutually beneficial project. It was fantastic to have a group of students develop this initiative. Science communication is such an important skill to have. Regardless of the specific major or path students are on, there鈥檚 a need to explain why your work is important.鈥
For Kroshkina, who plans to go to medical school, this skill was particularly rewarding to learn. 鈥淔inding ways to compile knowledge and to be able to communicate that and to have the skills to do that is very important 鈥 not just in the field I want to go into but in general,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to be great at something, and then it鈥檚 a whole other component to be able to teach that something to someone else and continue to spread that knowledge.鈥
At the end of the quarter, students gave a pilot presentation of the workshop to Lovitt鈥檚 chemistry seminar course. Presenting not only to their peers but also to Tehrani as a project stakeholder was both challenging and rewarding for the students. 鈥淚 know how intimidating it is to present to your peers,鈥 Lovitt said, 鈥渁nd to see them pull together at the end to give such an outstanding presentation was great.
鈥淗aving a real external person that you鈥檙e presenting to really helps you understand the stakes of what you鈥檙e learning 鈥 and raises the bar of what you鈥檙e willing to do when you present.鈥
Strengthening community connections
Although unexpected, the on-campus collaboration was undoubtedly the highlight of the class, the students said.
鈥淭he lab work taught me that I want to pursue a career with opportunities for hands-on work, and the workshop taught me how to work with others,鈥 Chiang said. 鈥淭his class was not what I expected it to be, which was a typical lecture course with some labs. I鈥檓 just really thankful that I took this class, where I got to work with a community partner and have the opportunity to teach other people while also learning myself.鈥
The experience was equally rewarding for Tehrani, who has a passion for working with students through community-engaged projects such as these.
鈥淚 enjoy introducing students to campus through this different lens,鈥 she said. 鈥淭o see them discover parts of campus, like the wetlands, that they鈥檝e never been to or to plant a tree that they will forever know is there because of them 鈥 it really strengthens a connection to the land and the community when you鈥檙e contributing to the campus in some way.鈥
The Stormwater Management Program is open to all UW Bothell and Cascadia College students and meets weekly/bi-weekly in Innovation Hall. Students interested in participating can contact David Tinto at dtinto@cascadia.edu.
