THE URBAN FLOODPLAIN: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY LABORATORY IN MEMPHIS TN

A storm drainage and floodplain system located near the Rhodes College campus has become an interdisciplinary laboratory. Students in environmental geology, analytical chemistry, biology, and urban studies courses are investigating the results of past pesticide dumping into the system by industries located along this drainage. An active neighborhood Community Development Corporation, a growing campus-neighborhood partnership, and an environmental education outreach program provide an important context for the student research in this area. Funding from EPA and the Associated Colleges of the South initiated the research projects. The outcomes have been numerous: 1)the college has allocated funds to try to expand research and educational opportunities; 2)the laboratory has fueled curricular change proposals; 3)additional grants have advanced service learning science projects with the neighborhood middle school; and 4)one industry has begun reanalyzing some of the soils. Details of the research and the resulting outcomes will be presented.