ShawneeDispatch.com

The water in Little Mill Creek is pretty safe.

That’s what Shawnee Mission Northwest juniors Baylee Birkmeyer and Lauren Severance determined after configuring the water’s quality level for a science project.

That project earned the pair a trip to the Stockholm Junior Water Prize national competition in Alaska, after they placed first in the state of Kansas competition. However, only one girl will be able to make the trip since contest rules limit participation at the national level to one student onsite.

Lauren leaves for Alaska on June 25.

The project began in September when the girls came up with their idea to monitor the effect precipitation had on the water quality of Little Mill Creek.

“The hardest part was coming up with the idea,” Lauren said. “It took longer to do that than the project.”

The pair looked at other ideas but none seemed as feasible as monitoring water quality. Lauren said a family friend had all the materials the project required, which made the project easier to complete.

“There were just too many variables to the other projects,” Baylee said.

The girls began monitoring a portion of Little Mill Creek on Halloween. They trekked to the area each day for 30 days to recover data.

After the 30 days of data retrieval the girls compiled all the data into equations to determine the water quality.

“We did all the equations at the end,” Baylee said. “We had a little party, it took a few hours.”

In the end the data confirmed Little Mill Creek’s water quality was normal.

The girls turned in their project, but they didn’t stop there.

“We figured we had to do it for class, we might as well go for competitions,” Baylee said.

The girls entered the Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair, the Shawnee Mission School District’s Research and Development Forum and the Stockholm Junior Water Prize.

The project received a gold ribbon and special award at the Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair.

But taking first in the Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition for Kansas was by far the most exciting.

“I was like ‘you’re joking’,” Baylee said of the news.

The excitement subsided when the girls learned only one of them could attend the competition in Alaska. A teacher from the school will also make the trip to Alaska.

“We flipped a coin,” Baylee said of deciding who would make the trip. Lauren won.

Even though this year’s competition isn’t over, the girls are contemplating entering the competition next year with a different project.

“We’re thinking about doing it again next year, so the other person could go,” Lauren said. “It’s pretty tough competition. There are a few activities and they take you a few places. The teachers learn how to teach more about water quality.”

In preparation for the trip, Lauren will reformat the project’s accompanying paper and ship the presentation board.

Overall, the project and upcoming trip open the girls’ eyes to the environment, even the one right outside their door.

“We were both interested in the environment,” Lauren said. “We both know how important it is now.”

Baylee said the project confirmed that other people are aware of the environment, too.

“It’s nice to know people are conscious of the environment,” she said.

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