Last of the Samples Processed

An example of a run sample without bacterial growth

Incubate at 112 degrees

Samples inside Petri Dishes

Filtration Apparatus 

Some of the bottles used for the study

This week I met JJ in the lab in the mornings to help her run the last of the water samples. She needs each water sample run through the filtration apparatus, the pH, the total chlorine, and the free chlorine. 

Once the water had been run through the filtration system and all of the tests are completed we placed the petri dishes in an incubator for 18 hours at 112 degrees to encourage the growth of thermo-tolerant coliforms.

Tuesday: I cleaned some petri dishes and checked the pH, free/total chlorine

Wednesday: Continued checking pH, free/total chlorine 

Thursday: Continued checking pH, free/total chlorine and that afternoon I placed the petri dishes into the incubator for 18 hours.

This morning- I went to the lab and removed the petri dishes from the incubator and went through each sample to check for pink or yellow spots of bacteria growth. The presence of pink bacterial growth shows a great presence of iron in the water. The presence of yellow bacterial growth shows a presence of thermo-tolerant coliforms. 

I am also supplementing this work in the lab by reading a presentation that JJ sent me outlining the details of the biology/infrastructure of Hale County and I am slowly but surely working through the large packet outlining what is needed for the proposal.

I will continue reading through this packet this weekend and write again soon. 

Justinn

Beginning of Water Quality Independent Study (NEW 312)

During this independent study I will be assisting JJ Cook, a University of Alabama Ph.D. student in conducting and analyzing water samples from individuals throughout Hale County. Once 300 samples have been collected and analyzed, I will be working on the narrative aspects of this EPA proposal/grant. I will assist JJ in the lab with the last of the water samples and organize this data into purposes that fit into the specifications of the EPA grant/proposal.  I will explore the broader significance of this water quality test in regards to infrastructurE problems in the United States and throughout the world. Along with the lab work and proposal, I will be keeping a narrative description of this independent study by updating my blog weekly with pictures of what I am doing and what I am getting out of this work. 

This past week JJ and I collected 16 samples a day of water from the northern part of Hale County (near Moundville). Once we collected all of these samples we spent Friday morning in the lab. JJ briefly showed me how she tested the water for bacteria. She showed me a couple samples that we collected last week that were full of bacteria. We discussed the logistics of how I am going to help her in this project. I am really looking forward to every aspect of this project. 

I am going to meet JJ tomorrow morning at the lab at 8 AM. I will take some pictures and upload them soon.

Justinn

Week Six/Conclusion

Seedlings 

Progress of raised beds and tomatoes

Sunken Beds Progress

Monday's Harvest

This week was a little bit slow. I worked on adding mulch to the tomato bed to further suppress the growth of weeds. This week I continued to tend to the garden by weeding, watering, harvesting, and planting (eg. marigolds). 

I continued to work with the kids until 10 AM and then go with JJ to help with the water quality work. 

In short, this week was the same as the last.

CONCLUSION:

This experience exposed me to many different types of people (ex. M students/graphic design, architecture students, HERO staff). My exposure to the inconsistencies in the water quality and living conditions of the individuals of Hale County helped me realize I want to work on environmental social justice issues in the future. 

Working in Greensboro has shown me I do want to work in a city rather than rural Alabama. 

I learned about the importance of the professional relationships between people in work settings... and how that relationship reflects on every one's job performance. 

My experience in the garden was exceptional. It was very cool seeing the seeds grow to these large plants bearing vegetables within the five weeks I was there. It was a cool experience digging the sunken beds (although it was hot as hell) and learning various things from Pam, Lydia, and the gardeners around town. 

I am really glad I was given the opportunity to intern at HERO. It's hard to believe that the people of Hale County and the surrounding Black Belt counties are so impoverished and lacking in resources. I hope to help individuals similar to HERO in the future. 

Week Five

Kid helping with planting tomatoes

A

Ajah and LaDarius helping plant in the raised beds

Volunteers from Maine, Gordon and Jay, helped the garden

The first kids of the week, Ajah and LaDarius

This past week began the morning time sessions with the kids from the local daycare center (located right behind the HERO campus). At first there were only two kids who had gotten their permission forms signed and it was a breeze. Lydia and I try to focus on educating the children about why vegetables/fruits are important and why gardens are so cool.

The kids are very enthusiastic about their time in the garden. We have six or seven kids each day. We have split them up into two smaller groups, having that many kids ranging in age from four to seven... it is difficult. 

Lydia plans what the children are going to do each day and I do my best to help her along. Many times we split the smaller groups up once more and have them doing separate tasks (i.e. planting small flowers, helping plant seeds, discussing what a compost pile is). Many times I leave before the kids do to join JJ for water quality work.

The compost pile is coming along well. We are still picking up old fruit from a farmer each day and tossing that in the pile. We really need to make a lid for it as well as a sign informing individuals what CAN and CANNOT go into the pile. When I got to the bin this Monday there was dog poop in the pile. Stinky.

Water quality work is still coming along well. I am more and more amazed with the people I am meeting, the situations I find myself in, and the sadness I feel for these people spending their money on crappy water AND buying bottled water. I was told today there is a high number of individuals in Hale County who have cancer and this individual hypothesized that it could be attributed to the additives catfish farmers add to their ponds. I wonder if Joe and JJ have explored this. The farmers don't have to have a lining on their ponds and the chemicals could seep into the groundwater. I will explore this more!

I write a week behind... this week (Week Six) is my last week at HERO. I will write again soon.

Justinn

Week Four

Garden

Dirt (over 1000 lbs)

Finished Raised Beds 

Front Loader picking up cinder blocks

This past week was very busy! We went to the local grocery stores and farmer's markets to ask the managers/farmers if they were willing to give us their pre-consumer waste (i.e. old vegetables/fruits) for the compost bin. We also drove around the town of Greensboro collecting leaves and twigs that can also be added to our compost bin.

This week we all continued to clean up the pavilion. Lydia, Spence, and I sought out a gentleman named John who allowed us to use his front loading tractor to load up the cinder blocks around the site and Pam's dad took it in his dump truck to a local site. This was an entertaining day indeed! 

Rennie completed the second raised bed this past week. Lydia and I helped screw the cedar boards into the second raised bed. I look forward to planting vegetables into the beds! 

I was amazed at how much the vegetables grew while I was away. Lydia added lime to the larger sunken bed. The tomato bed is still looking a bit rough... we added lime today. 

Funny little side note... Lydia and I knocked on a random house and a little boy answered. I asked him for some water and he proceeds to RUN three trailers down and scream to his mom... "Mommah!!! Mommah!!! White girls want our water." She screams, "WHAT?!?! What you mean boy?" It was funny. Maybe you had to be there.

I will write more about the current week soon. There is lots to tell!

Justinn

Week Three

Rennie

Raised Bed built by Rennie

What is left of the pavilion

Tomato Plant

Tomato Bed (Big Boys, Cherry, and more)

First Banana Pepper

Crooked Neck Squash

This past week has been very productive. We finished taking down the pavilion and pulling out nails and screws from the boards. This was a very time consuming process to say the least. As Rennie was building the raised bed (see the picture above) I continued to tend to the garden. This week I turned up the tomato bed and planted ten plants (three different varieties). I am worried that the tomatoes will not do very well. They are in mediocre soil (mostly clay) and in constant sunlight. When I left today they were looking pretty sorry. 

I am glad Lydia is there now because she is offering lots of advice to help the vegetables become more prosperous and healthy. She got some hay and was placing it around each of the plants when I left today to help the plants keep their moisture. I hate that we could not till up the sunken beds because there is already grass growing amongst the plants. I am still finding bricks and bits of broken glass throughout the beds. 

We have not built a compost bin yet but it is in the works. The guys in the pie lab have been saving their coffee grains and we have a large pile of grass clippings and scraps of vegetables for the bin. Lydia suggested we have a vermicomposting bin and I completely agree... partially because that is something I actually know about and I know it yields compost quickly.

I have the next week off so I won't post for a while. 

Justinn

Water Quality Work

Pie Lab Entrance

Pie Lab Pies

OPEN FOR PIE

PIE!

Today began the first day of my work with JJ collecting samples from houses within Hale County. The name of the study is "Water Quality and Health in Alabama's Black Belt."

Here is some basic background information (provided by JJ):

+ Study of household drinking water quality in Hale County. Decaying infrastructure in rural areas of the county results in serious degradation of water quality as delivered by public and private water systems. 

+ According to a 2005 community service conducted by HERO, 990 households (24% of the total) in rural areas of Hale County did not have domestic water service. Where households are connected to the system, high costs of water (2 to 3 times the national average) and leak-prone domestic pipes often lead to expensive bills. 

The collection of these water samples (gathered Monday-Wednesday) are tested by JJ in the lab and the participants will receive a free water quality report (with . The participants are asked questions about their water quality, demographics, and costs as through a brief survey.The results will help determine if there are possible correlations between human health and water quality. 

Here is WHAT I did today:

JJ told me there are 5 highways that enter Greensboro. We took one of these highways and knocked on clusters of houses to ask for a water sample from their tap or spicket and to answer a couple questions. 

The questions that are asked:

+ Are you connected to county water? Or do you use well water?

+ How long have you been connected? How much did it cost?

+ Do you have any problems with your county water (eg. discoloration, odor, taste, outages, etc)?

+ How much is your monthly water bill?

+ Do you have a septic system?

+ Do you filter your water?

+ How do you rate your drinking water?

The individuals filled a small Nalgene bottle with a corresponding number and survey and I handed them the bottle with a SMILE.

The majority of the individuals who ACTUALLY answered their door were very uneasy about us and what we were doing. As a result I felt pretty uncomfortable because the individuals we spoke to for the most part were uncomfortable. JJ explained to me never to push anyone and to follow the body language and flow of each individual.

Some of these individuals did not even give JJ the time to explain the purpose of our random visit and were on the defensive or chose not to answer the door. Many individuals were not home (it was 1 PM) and the individuals that were home were of the low socio-economic scale and largely African American. It is crazy how much of a difference there is between the houses and the inhabitants of Greensboro I saw over just today. 

I really liked the change of scenery and discussing the importance and social/environmental injustices associated with the water across the Black Belt with JJ today. I am looking forward to learning more...

Justinn