Scientific research can be both time consuming and tedious when designing a project that can achieve meaningful and accurate results.

Wrangell High School students were honored for doing just that, at the regional Advancing Indigenous Science and Engineering Society (AISES) science fair in Juneau in April. Now three of those students are heading to the nationals in Portland.

Seniors Madelyn Davies, Alana Harrison and Sophia Martinsen were scheduled to fly south on Oct. 13 to present their research projects, both of which took home awards at the regional fair in Juneau.

On the evening of Oct. 7, they held a presentation at the Nolan Center to warm up for the trip.

“They did such a great job and I am looking forward to them presenting in Portland!” said their science teacher, Heather Howe, in an email the day after the presentation.  

The first group to present were Harrison and Martinsen.

For their work, they collected water samples from the 10-Mile pipe — used by some residents for drinking water — and compared it to microplastic concentrations in samples from Heritage Harbor and Reliance Harbor.

Their project came out of a dual-enrollment class with the University of Alaska Fairbanks for the RASOR program, Rural Alaska Students in One Health Research. The third member of their team, Braden Howard, contributed to the research but chose not to participate in the presentations.

“Our team chose this project because we wanted to expand on the research from previous years of microplastics,” Harrison said in the presentation. “We wanted a project that would be informative and impactful when we presented the project to the community.”

Their results categorized microplastic contamination by color and found that the 10-Mile pipe samples had a disproportionate amount of black microplastic concentrations to the other two sites. Martinsen said further research to determine the source of the plastics could help the community better understand the impacts of these microplastics on human health in the future.

They received an award for their work at the AISES regional science fair.

“They brought home an award,” Howe told the audience. “The Environmental Science and Sustainability Award, protecting and honoring our land. I couldn’t be prouder of their dedication.”

Next up, Davies shared her research on the antibiotic properties of usnea, a common lichen found throughout the Tongass National Forest. Lichen is an algae hybrid living symbiotically with fungi.

Davies, who works as a hiking tour guide in the summers, was somewhat familiar with the indigenous ties of the plant and its medicinal uses. “So, I kind of asked the question: How effective are the antibacterial properties of usnea, and that led me here.”

To test it, she gathered wild usnea that had fallen off trees. She said the lichen only grows several inches a year, so finding some that had already been knocked off was the most sustainable option. 

She then combined the samples with swabs taken from the high school’s handrails and toilet paper holders. Bacterial swabs were added to an agar plate —which provides the nutrients necessary to grow bacterial colonies — in a petri dish, then added cut-up chunks of the antibiotic plant. 

“My hypothesis was correct that if the usnea was in the petri dishes, then less bacteria would grow,” Davies said in her presentation. “Which is pretty cool if you ask me.”

She was awarded the top prize at the regional AISES fair in Juneau called Excellence - Leading the Way.

“I just want to share how excited I am that the journey for these girls is not over,” their science teacher told the room. “Next week, they are taking this research down to Portland, Oregon, where they'll present at the AISES national conference.”