The Senior High School’s introduction to research classes participated in “A Day in the Life” program at Belmont Lake State Park on Oct. 12. Research students broke into groups and conducted tests at Belmont Lake as well as the Carll’s River, which feeds the lake. Students were joined by professors from Adelphi University and a national park ranger to help them in their data collections.

Beginning in 2012, the Day in the Life program has reached out to various schools in New York, lending them equipment as students tested their local waters. This data – including wildlife counts, pH testing, nitrates/phosphates testing, soil sampling – is then uploaded to a database to be shared with the public.

The day is coordinated by the Central Pine Barrens Commission, Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Portal to Discovery, New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation and Suffolk County Water Authority. More than 2,500 students will participate in the program, guided by 38 partner agencies and 40 schools.