There are two initiatives: Design a radio controlled car with a solar charging system and collect water quality data to help determine the health of the Neuse River. And Cardinal Gibbons is one of just five high schools to participate in each of the projects, which are being sponsored by area colleges.

In the upcoming months AP Environmental Science teacher Dan Porter, left wearing red hat, will work with a group of students on the Neuse Water Quality Research Project. The project is sponsored by UNC's Institute for the Environment and the Department of Marine Sciences.

In a letter welcoming Gibbons to the project, Michele Drostin of UNC's Institute for the Environment, wrote that the project's goal is to provide a field and laboratory experience for students and teachers that parallels the research occurring at UNC.

To that end, Porter said he and his students "will be part of a research team" that will work with professors as well as post doctoral, graduate, and under graduate students at UNC. He said the Gibbons students will collect water quality data that will be sent to the labs at UNC "for analysis of the overall health of the Neuse River."

Drostin wrote in her letter that Gibbons was selected because of its experience in and enthusiasm for the program.

Meanwhile, three other Gibbons science teachers – Barbara Gamblin, Angie Melcher and Diane Ripollone - are hard at work preparing students for the Sustainable Transportation Education Program (STEP) and competition. The students will "modify, test, demonstrate, and fabricate a radio controlled car and solar charging system that can successfully navigate various courses during a timed demonstration," said Gamblin. They will submit their project in May.

"This is a great opportunity for our students to be collaborative, creative and innovative while applying physics, environmental science, and technology," said Gamblin. "It also gives them a chance to learn about alternative fueled transportation systems."

Members of the STEP program visited Cardinal Gibbons for the first-ever Sustainability Day earlier this school year. At that time many students expressed interest in the program, Gamblin noted.

The STEP program is a collaborative effort with North Carolina State's Solar Center in the College of Engineering and the College of Education. View a short video about the program.

Academic Dean and Chair of the Science Department Sister Janet Schemmel, SND, said of the involvement of the Gibbons Science department staff in the two initiatives:

"An integral part of the mission of Gibbons' science teachers is to encourage environmental stewardship among our students. Both Ms. Gamblin and Mr. Porter have continually explored new avenues to involve our students in using the science that they learn in the classroom to better understand and explore the environment of the Triangle in which they live.

 "Involvement in NC State's STEP project is a direct result of last November's Sustainability Day organized by Ms. Gamblin. Involvement in UNC's Neuse Water Quality Research Project is the next step for Mr. Porter's AP Environmental students who for several years have conducted a stream study on the Richland Creek near the RBC Center. It is exciting to have our students partnering with local Universities in such meaningful real world activities."