Students Track Winter Road Salt in Real-Time Research Project

Published: December 11, 2025

Author: Liz Dowell

When Greenville University students gathered on a cold November evening, they were not meeting for a lecture or a study group. They were logging in to an online "watch party" where science meets service, stewardship meets community, and learning expands well beyond classroom walls.

On Wednesday, November 5, at 7 p.m., Nathaniel Brown, Director of Residence Life, Area Coordinator , hosted an online citizen-science training session for Winter Chloride Watch, a statewide environmental research initiative led by The Conservation Foundation and the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC).

After the virtual training, GU students and volunteers will help collect water samples from creeks across Bond and Macoupin counties to measure the environmental impact of road salt during the winter months.

For Brown, this project is much more than a sampling assignment.

“Citizen science and community research really combine some of my lifelong loves,” he said. “I’ve always been drawn to the outdoors and conservation, and these kinds of projects make it possible to make an impact while you’re outside. Creation care is something deeply rooted in my Christian convictions; getting outside, exploring the woods, learning about animals, and caring for what God made.”

A Local Connection with a Global Mission

Brown’s relationship with NGRREC goes back years. The organization’s headquarters in Alton sits not far from his hometown, and he has followed their research and community outreach closely.

“It’s been exciting to move back to the St. Louis area and see all of the conservation and environmental education efforts taking place,” he said. “Organizations like NGRREC and The Conservation Foundation do great work combining community engagement and ecological research. They give people a chance to participate in large-scale citizen science that directly serves their communities.”

Winter Chloride Watch, FrogWatch, and RiverWatch are just a few of the programs that welcome volunteers willing to collect data and contribute to statewide environmental monitoring.

These efforts directly align with GU’s commitment to experiential learning. Engaging students in hands-on work that blends academic study with real-world impact.

Training in Action

Each winter, thousands of tons of road salt are scattered across Illinois' roadways. What keeps roads safe for drivers can, unfortunately, harm local ecosystems when that salt washes into rivers and streams. Chloride at high concentrations harms fish, aquatic insects, and the health of entire waterways.

Winter Chloride Watch trains volunteers to gather water samples and test chloride levels throughout the winter season. It’s simple work. But deeply meaningful.

“The online training is only an hour long,” Brown said. “After that, students can join me for creek visits around Greenville or collect samples from waterways near their homes while they’re on winter break.”

The project is intentionally flexible. Students can participate on their own schedule, while still contributing essential data to statewide researchers. The work blends technical skills with relational care: testing water precisely and also paying attention to the ecosystems they inhabit.

“Students learn both the scientific side of testing and the relational side of caring for the places they inhabit,” Brown said.

Service Rooted in Stewardship

For Brown, the heart of this project is character formation.

“I think it’s vital for students to develop habits that positively impact the place where they live while in college,” he said. “Regardless of a student’s major, education implies responsibility. To learn is also to care.”

Real-world research turns abstract concepts into lived experiences. Students see how their small, local efforts connect to statewide data and long-term stewardship.

“Science isn’t confined to labs or textbooks,” Brown said. “It happens in our neighborhoods and streams.”

This work also connects directly with GU’s Student Life Curriculum, especially the learning goal of Community Responsibility. Students are encouraged to invest in the places they live and serve.

A Volunteer Project That Makes a Difference

Although the project is not for academic credit, Brown believes students gain something far more lasting than a grade.

“This is all volunteer,” he said. “But GU students resonate with practical experiences where you can have fun and make the world a better place. That’s what experiential learning is all about. Learning, participating, reflecting, and caring for your community.”

Whether gathering data along a creek, learning how salt impacts ecosystems, or joining a webinar from a dorm lounge, students become part of a statewide movement to protect the rivers and streams that sustain the region.

And in the process, they grow as scholars, as neighbors, and as stewards of God’s creation.