The Milford Public Schools and Milford High School are very pleased to announce that Milford High School has been awarded a grant supporting hands-on learning experiences with environmental research and action by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Milford High School Science educators will have an opportunity to learn about local-impact, community-based science research, while students enrolled in Zoology, Wildlife Conservation, and Marine Biology courses under the direction of Mr. Austin Costa will partake in a number of research projects and field trips that will take them from local watershed sights all the way through whale watching trips in the Atlantic Ocean.

Through the NOAA and the conservation group Whales and Dolphins Conservation (WDC), the grant project will teach Milford High School students about their local watersheds, the Narragansett Bay watershed, and the Atlantic Ocean watershed.  Students will discover and learn how the water in Milford is connected to the Charles River, Blackstone River, and Narragansett Bay, and then ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean.

Mr. Austin Costa, MHS Zoology and Marine Biology teacher shared, “This project benefits both students and the local community. We get to see firsthand how actions in our own community in the middle of Massachusetts can impact some of the largest and most beautiful creatures in the ocean.  It really brings the science home.”

Beginning in the fall of 2025, WDC staff, Milford science educators, and students will travel to the project’s field site at Louisa Lake, about one mile from Milford High School. WDC staff will train educators on Meaningful Watershed Education Experiences (MWEEs), collecting and recording clean-up data, and taking and testing water samples for microplastics and plankton. Teachers and students will continue to travel to the field site throughout the school year. Milford High School will be provided with NOAA education resources to implement the project throughout the school year.

Students and educators will travel downstream to the Blackstone River where they will participate in a RiverClassroom tour aboard the Explorer River Tour. While on board, educators will teach about water ecology, water quality, sustainable practices, and pollution. Continuing down the watershed, students will travel to Narragansett Bay and participate in a local trash clean up. On the final field trip, students will participate in an Atlantic Ocean whale watch and research trip.

Students will analyze their data, develop project presentations, and present their results. This may include poster presentations, digital presentations, or other projects that could be shared and distributed to the school, community, town officials, political representatives, and/or on social media. 

Once students have successfully followed the path of a raindrop to the ocean, students will have a better understanding of how contaminants and litter move from Milford to the Atlantic Ocean. 

Costa added, “We want to thank the NOAA and WDC for their support of this program. All of the professional development for our teachers, resources and equipment, and hands-on, experiential learning field trips for our students are being provided and funded by these groups.  We can’t thank them enough for this opportunity to bring community-based science education to the Milford High school students.”