About 80 Comeaux High School students huddled in small groups on the banks of the Bayou Vermilion, one of several “classrooms” they visited on Wednesday to learn about water quality issues.

The students were performing chemistry tests on water samples scooped up in buckets tied to lengths of yellow rope. They also cruised the waterway in large wooden boats, getting a bird’s-eye view of the area’s watershed.

The field study was conducted as part of the Drains to Coast program coordinated by the Institute for Coastal Ecology and Engineering at the University of Louisiana.

The Institute fosters research on restoration of the nation’s wetlands and estuaries.

“The key is for students to buy into coastal restoration, for the next generation to understand the importance of water quality,” said Clair Coussan, an undergraduate student in the University’s School of Geosciences, who helps to coordinate the program.

Julianne Llewellyn, a Comeaux High School freshman, said testing the water’s nutrient, oxygen and sediment levels will help her comprehend concepts she’s learning about in her science classes.

“We’ve seen it on paper, and learned about the math and science behind it, but seeing it up close definitely gives you get a better understanding,” she said.

Comeaux High students will use computer software to analyze the data gleaned during their Wednesday work, said Lisa Ranney, a chemistry teacher there.

“Once we bring the knowledge back to the classroom, it makes students a little bit more excited about learning.

” The Drains to Coast program is funded by a $99,121 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Bay-Watershed Education and Training Program.

The environmental education project involves collaboration with the Bayou Vermilion District, Lafayette Parish School System, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, and the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program. About 600 students from Lafayette Parish schools are expected to participate in the two-year Drains to Coast program, said Dr. Whitney Broussard, a research scientist at the Institute for Coastal Ecology and Engineering and the grant’s principal investigator.

“It’s great to see so many students engaged and hopefully this will spark an interest in many of them,” Broussard said. Learn more about the institute at icee.louisiana.edu

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