Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. (WSSI) once again welcomed the winners of the SySTEMic Solutions Engineering Challenge for 6th-7th graders, along with their teachers and families, for their June 10th awards ceremony. SySTEMIC Solutions is a Northern Virginia Community College STEM outreach program, helping students get excited about and interested in the fields of Science,Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The 6th grade challenge was to create a weather monitoring station and collect data for a full week, while the 7th grade challenge was to study a biome¹ other than one’s own. Weather and biomes link directly to the work we do here at WSSI, so program director Amy Harris suggested our Gainesville, Virginia office host the awards for a second consecutive year.

Students met WSSI engineers and scientists during the event, learning not only how varied and interesting careers in the life sciences and engineering can be, but also some of the kinds of projects we work on day-to-day. WSSI staff discussed stream restoration, landscape architecture, benthic macroinvertebrate studies, and endangered species protection. Winners then toured WSSI’s gold LEED-certified building and grounds.

WSSI is proud to support students interested in STEM fields. Congratulations to challenge winners!