As part of the high school-university collaboration, the 4th UNMP (Ueda Nishi Learning Project) Lecture A "Let's learn about the water quality of the Chikuma River!" was held!

As part of the high school-university collaboration, the 4th UNMP (Ueda Nishi Learning Project) Lecture A “Let’s learn about the water quality of the Chikuma River!” was held on Saturday, January 28, 2023 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. From the Institute of Freshwater Biology, Assistant Professor Sakie Kodama, Researcher Alessandra Cera, Professor Hiroshi Hakoyama, 10 students from Ueda Nishi High School, and two teachers, Teacher Tsuchiya and Teacher Katagiri, participated. They gave a mini-lecture at the Institute of Freshwater Biology, examined the water quality and benthic organisms in the Chikuma River, and analyzed the obtained samples in the laboratory (EcoPlate analysis using a microplate reader and identification of benthic organisms such as aquatic insects). At Ueda Nishi High School, water quality surveys have been conducted since 2016 as an activity for teacher Tsuchiya and high school students. The survey at Ueda Nishi High School has also become more serious, and this time the topic is to investigate the characteristics of the microbial community in the Chikuma River river purification project, and to analyze the physiological activity of the microbial flora (biofilm) on the rocks at the bottom of the river using EcoPlate.

As part of the high school-university collaboration, the Institute of Freshwater Biology is considering using the Institute’s excellent facilities to deepen collaboration between Nagano University faculty specializing in biology and ecology and high school teachers who are advisors to the biology club and other societies, and to provide a place for local high school students to learn biology.