Jessica Noll, an environmental science and geology major, spent the summer working in a Muskie Fellowship with Dr. Lois Zook and the Muskingum County Soil and Water Conservation District. Jessica’s tasks included collecting soil, plant and water samples from areas all over Muskingum County, then testing them.
Most samples were collected from agriculture runoff and were tested for ammonia, phosphates, nitrite and nitrate concentrations, turbidity, pH and conductivity. The data that Jessica collected was analyzed and compared to past years, as Dr. Zook has an ongoing partnership with the Muskingum County Soil and Water Conservation District. One of the goals of those working on the project is to see if progress is being made in decreasing nutrient runoff, and understanding how different areas of the county have changed.
Jessica says, “This Muskie Fellowship has and will continue to benefit me greatly now and in my future. What I learned this summer can be applied in many different environmental areas, giving me diversity and a larger set of skills. I feel confident that this fellowship will help me succeed and secure a job in my future.”
Jessica is from Somerset, Ohio and will graduate in December.