13-Year-Old Monitors Lake Avondale Water Quality

Kylie McArthur, 13, is doing her part to protect the environment.

The rising eighth grader at is part of the water quality monitorning program for the state Adopt-A-Stream program.

She takes water samples at three sites near Lake Avondale. She puts the samples in a cooler and takes the cooler monthly to the DeKalb County Water and Sewer offices.

Kylie said she enjoys the stream monitoring, though it requires her to wake up extra early.

"I'm very into the math and science so I enjoy the chemical tests," she said. "It might be what I do when I grow up."

Her interest in stream monitoring started about a year ago as a Girl Scout service project. She's a cadet in Troop 2443.

Becoming formally involved in Adopt-A-Stream required Kylie to travel to Forsyth County and Stone Mountain to take three daylong classes in chemical, bacterial and biological monitoring.

For attending the classes, "they gave me a certificate and a rock," Kylie said with a laugh. It was a smooth river rock, symbolizing the work of Adopt-A-Stream, the program that encourages citizens to learn first-hand about pollution and water quality.

It's a family affair for the McArthurs. Her father, Chris, works for the Environmental Protection Agency and helped her get started.

Adopt-A-Stream presented her with the Nymph Award last March at a banquet. This is a new award for the progam.

"She has collected data consistently and carefully for three stream sites in her neighborhood," Adopt-A-Stream said in its newsletter. "Kylie plans to write an article for her city's newsletter after she has collected one year's worth of data."

Kylie is also a member of the Lake Avondale Advisory Board.

She works the stream monitoring into a busy schedule. Kylie plays clarinet in the Renfroe Middle School band and swims competitively, concentrating on the butterfly.

She's also a member of the local . That's an educational program in which student teams solve open-ended challenges and present their solutions in a tournament situation.