Alfredo Garcia is an Astoria high school student working this summer through the Portland Chapter's Blue Water Task Force Prgram to collect data for his senior project. Alfredo will be following up on his data from throughout the summer with a research project, comparing local BWTF data to beaches in other areas. We're stoked to work with such great youth volunteers in our programs and Alfredo is a fine example. Alfredo and teacher/mentor Tim Roth are pictured at right learning the ropes of sterilization. With the new equipment, the program will be able to reuse glass containers, rather than disposable plastics. Additionally, this fall, the project will begin partnering with the watershed council to begin investigating Ecola Creek water quality. Over the past few years, the Oregon Beach Monitoring Program has begun detecting large volumes of bacteria at the outfall of Ecola creek (where many children play). Stay tuned for more to come from this partnership this fall!