Two of Nancy Borts seventh-grade science classes at Francis C. Hammond Middle School created a video this year that won first place at a Youth Summit sponsored by Earth Force, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of watersheds.

The award-winning video, Holmes Run … and Other Streams. How They Affect Your Environment! uses a mock newscast, commercial and a trash-covered character named Eco Dude to teach the public ways that trash can be limited and kept out of waterways.

As research for the project, the students undertook a water-monitoring inventory of Holmes Run, collecting and identifying various species of macro invertebrates, which serve as indicators of water quality. They also studied the physical aspects of the stream and noted a large accumulation of trash, much of which could have been recycled by its users.