Keith Miller, Assistant Professor in Chemistry and Biochemistry, and his students are working to find that answer. By utilizing the resources within Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning, Miller has started a relationship with the Sand Creek Regional Greenway. Sand Creek Regional Greenway has a mission to serve as the driving force to bring together the cities of Denver, Aurora, and Commerce City, and Stapleton Redevelopment Corporation in order to effectively manage the development and use of Sand Creek. Sand Creek and its primary tributary, Westerly Creek, have been classified as “impaired” because of bacteria. The source of these elevated levels is not known and there has yet to be a formal analysis and dissemination of the data to the public.

Professor Miller’s Aquatic Chemistry class (Chemistry 3411) is spending the quarter analyzing this data and developing a comprehensive monitoring plan for the Sand Creek. Miller refers to the work along Sand Creek as a “scaffold” for the course, which gives him the opportunity to integrate service learning with lectures and course work to provide the necessary background. As part of their assignment, the students will collect, analyze, and summarize existing water quality data collected by various entities for Sand Creek. From their analysis of these data and a few rounds of their own sampling, the students will develop a comprehensive monitoring plan for Sand Creek.

If the plan is accepted by the Sand Creek Board, Miller plans to help implement it as a partnership between future DU classes and elementary schools within the Sand Creek watershed. He has applied for a grant from DU’s Public Good Fund to help implement this next step of the program. Professor Miller has also begun to involve his colleagues in the project: “The study of the environment is inherently interdisciplinary in nature requiring inputs from multiple disciplines to help understand and solve environmental problems.” An Environmental Toxicology class, for example, would have the ability to participate in a broader range of environmental monitoring projects, including sediment and soil sampling. In January, Miller and three colleagues from the sciences attended a Sand Creek reception to discuss ways to expand the relationship.

Kate Kramer, Executive Director of Sand Creek Regional Greenway, is pleased about the partnership. “We’ve had a strong data set from our community partners, but no analysis and management plan. The work of Keith’s students and the university will allow us to develop a management plan for the nearly 14-mile corridor and will be instrumental in our ability to be strong stewards of the greenway.”