Welcome to Columbia Riverkeeper’s Hub for Teaching Pollution Prevention to Middle School Students.
We offer four free, easy-to-implement science units that tackle important environmental issues and inspire action by empowering students with the tools to make a difference. Students will learn to define problems, evaluate evidence, and develop their own solutions.
Grades: 6-8
Focus: pollution, stormwater, microplastics, riparian habitats, human impacts, solutions
Unit 1
Household Contaminants
Unit 2
Stormwater
Unit 3
Riparian Zones
Unit 4
Plastics
This project has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement RB 01J73501 to Columbia Riverkeeper. The contents of this website subpage do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor does the EPA endorse trade names or recommend the use of commercial products mentioned in this document.
Fact Sheets and FAQs
Access more content on our FAQS and Resources page and our Science and Education webinar playlist on YouTube.
Tire Chemicals and Salmon
For decades, researchers have puzzled over an alarming phenomenon in Seattle-area streams in the Puget Sound: a large proportion of adult coho salmon die before they get the chance to spawn. Then, in 2020, scientists pinpointed the pollutant responsible for the coho deaths. The chemical, 6PPD-quinone (6PPD-q), is so highly toxic to coho that exposed fish die in a matter of hours.
Eating Columbia River Fish: FAQ
The Columbia River, and the communities that depend on it, face serious threats from toxic pollution. Every day, thousands of pipes discharge toxic pollution from industry, cities, and dirty stormwater runoff. Pesticides and heavy metals enter the river from diffuse sources, such as agricultural runoff and air deposition. Let’s explore what we know about toxics in Columbia River fish; the risks associated with consuming Columbia River salmon; and what people that care about clean water and environmental justice can do about the problem.
Mercury & The Columbia:
Should I Be Concerned?
In the 2009 State of the River Report, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identified mercury as one of the four classes of toxic contaminants of the greatest concern in the Columbia River Basin, alongside polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), and polybrominated flame retardants (PBDEs). While the Columbia is burdened with too much toxic pollution and all kinds of chemical pollutants, mercury contamination is one of the primary drivers of fish advisories and concerns around consuming Columbia River fish.