Students engage, help community via LEAP

As a scientist, Dr. Royce Dansby-Sparks is aware of the potential for contaminants in the well water that supplies his Lumpkin County home.

As an associate professor of chemistry at the University of North Georgia (UNG), Dansby-Sparks knows how to test the water for harmful impurities. This fall, Dansby-Sparks will connect the two roles as his students offer to test the well water of Dahlonega homeowners for metals.

This voluntary service is available through a collaboration between UNG and the University of Georgia Extension office for Lumpkin County. Dr. Lori Wilson, head of UNG's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, will utilize her expertise in water analysis to assist with the research-based project. It is one of three funded by the Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) into Action grants for fall 2021.

LEAP is an Association of American Colleges and Universities initiative designed to provide higher education institutions with a practical framework to deliver an inclusive liberal education in a complex and diverse world. LEAP into Action grants support small-scale and impactful projects by UNG faculty and staff, Dr. Carly Redding, director of academic engagement and associate professor of sociology and human services at UNG, said.

The three LEAP grant recipients were Dansby-Sparks, Jeffrey Repko and Dr. Kasee Laster.

• Repko, assistant professor of sculpture in the Department of Visual Arts, will advance a public art initiative for sculptures on the properties of the Gainesville Housing Authority (GHA). Students will learn to weld during the fall 2021 semester, and their projects will be installed at GHA's properties on a rotating basis.
• Laster, lecturer of English at UNG, will implement an educational game into her English composition classes to increase student engagement. The result will be a well-researched paper suitable for publication from students.

Dansby-Sparks said his project provides a real-world learning experience for his students, who typically learn the process by testing fabricated samples in the classroom.

"With this research project, students will know there is a real person who will be impacted by the results of their tests," Dansby-Sparks said.

According to a 2009 U.S. Geological Survey, about 23% of more than 2,100 private wells sampled from across the country had at least one contaminant at a level of potential health concern. Dansby-Sparks said more than 40% to 60% of Dahlonega and Lumpkin County homeowners use well water, which is not regulated by water quality standards.

"The UGA Extension Office for Lumpkin County offers well water testing for a fee. Through our partnership, we will duplicate that test and expand on it," Dansby-Sparks said. "We will do the same analysis and test for arsenic and lead, as well as other metals."

He said his project will help students understand the applications of chemistry and get them invested in their community.

"It's hard to find synergy or ways to incorporate community-based projects in teaching science curriculum," Dansby-Sparks said. "This is a way to do both. Statistical and chemical analysis that ties that into service-learning."