Students learn about aquatic life during summer camp

Dmitri Sobolev, left, a UHV associate professor of biology, explains how to measure out a treated water sample on Saturday to Emilie Janicek, front middle, a freshman at Nixon-Smiley High School; Ariana Owens, back left, a sophomore at Edna High School; Landon Atkins, back right, a seventh-grader at Nixon-Smiley Middle School; and Stephanie Banditrat, a seventh-grader at Labay Middle School in Houston. The four students attended the UHV Aquatic Sciences Summer Camp on Aug. 11 and 18. On the first day, students collected water samples from the Tres Palacios River, and they tested the treated water samples for oxygen saturation on the second day. The experiments were designed to show how fertilizer used in growing plants on land can cause oxygen depletion in aquatic ecosystems and ends up killing aquatic organisms. The camp was funded by a grant from The Trull Foundation.

The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.