High school students learn about water quality and wetland ecology during the 2014 Buffalo Bayou event hosted by UHD.
Courtesy of John Everett

Nearly 200 juniors and seniors from Harmony Public Schools (HPS) and Taylor High School-Alief (THS) will participate in hands-on, service learning with University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) students and natural science professors during day of service.

As a part of Global Youth Service Day, nearly 200 high school students from Harmony Public Schools (HPS) and Taylor High School-Alief (THS) will participate in a day of hands-on, service learning with UHD students and natural science professors this week. On Friday, April 17, the high school students will tour the bayou in pontoon boats, gather water samples and discuss the flora and fauna of Buffalo Bayou. The teams of students then will analyze collected water samples and learn about invasive species in the bayou.

In the afternoon, UHD will host a Science and Society Symposium, in which UHD students taking general microbiology and immunology courses will conduct oral and poster presentations on topics of interest to the public, including the meningitis vaccine, probiotics, bioremediation, obesity and the immune system, and allergies.

"UHD's Center for Community Engagement & Service Learning is proud to partner with HPS and THS in this high-impact, community engagement project that ignites young students' passion for the sciences, while also beautifying Buffalo Bayou," said President Flores. "This day of service introduces students to exciting STEM fields and highlights the importance of giving back to the communities where we live and work."