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CSBPA 2008 Science Fair Awards

Ocean acidification, the effects of ocean and coastal pollution on ecosystems, disturbances to California sea otters, and sand disappearing from our beaches:
Students presenting projects at California's 57th Annual State Science Fair show
their concerns about these issues and offer some creative approaches to investigating and solving problems. At this year's Science Fair, students from public and private schools throughout California presented their projects amidst stiff competition.

This year, California Shore and Beach Preservation Association selected its annual winners for Outstanding Coastal Science Awards from among many excellent projects in both the Junior and Senior Divisions. Judges David Cannon, Phyllis Grifman (both members of CSBPA's Board of Directors) and Susan Zaleski (Susan is the Coastal Resources Specialist for USC Sea Grant) had the difficult and pleasurable task of reviewing science projects, interviewing the students and awarding the students their prize certificates.

In the Junior Division, the winning project was the product of a team of middle school girls -- Rose Landis Leopold and Ella Rae Madsen (both 8th Graders at Pacific Collegiate School in Santa Cruz), for the project entitled "Sandy Beaches: Pleasure or Pollutant? An Analysis of Sand Bacteria as a Possible Source of Ocean Contamination, Year 2." The project, in which the girls tested local beach sands for the presence of E. Coli and coliform bacteria, confirmed their hypothesis that the sands could be potential sources of contamination for ocean water and groundwater. Ms. Leopold and Ms. Madsen also won 2nd Place in the Environmental Science Category in the Junior Division. The CSBPA award for the Junior Division prize is $250, along with memberships for both girls in the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (which includes membership in CSBPA, the California chapter).

In the Senior Division, Sarah Doyel, a 10th grader at Ventura High School in Ventura, won CSBPA's Special Award for her project, "A Cry for Help! Are Malibu Beaches Starving for Sand?" In her project, Ms. Doyel compared beach profile maps of six selected beaches from 1967 and 1969 to 2002 and 2005. Using Cartesian coordinates of the profiles and the location of the mean high tide line, she determined whether there was significant beach retreat between 1967 and 2005. She then compared aerial photographs of the Malibu coastline from 1972 to 2004-06 to examine further evidence of erosion. Her results showed that four of the six beaches she examined have experienced significant erosion since 1967, and she attributes this trend to human development on Malibu's shore. Ms. Doyel's project also won Honorable Mention in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Senior Division. CSBPA awards $500 for the Senior Division prize, along with membership in ASBPA and CSBPA.

For a listing of all the student projects by category, along with abstracts, link to: http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/Current/Panels/