Eagle Valley Middle School on DANalytics Environmental

It Started With a Totally Normal Conversation

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Every origin story gets tidied up in the retelling. Ours does not need much help, because it started the way most of our projects start: Amy asked a question that sounded innocent, and I answered it honestly, which was my mistake.

The conversation went like this.

Amy: “So… would it be useful if more water quality data was collected along the Carson River?”
Dan: “Yes, it would.”
Amy: “Can anyone collect water quality data?”
Dan: “Yes, they can.”
Amy: “Could I collect water quality data?”
Dan: “…Technically, yes.”
Amy: “Could the Green Biz Kidz collect water quality data?”
Dan: “Yes…”
Amy: “Interesting…”

How to Trick a Teenager Into Doing Real Science

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I need to confess something about the software in Amy’s classroom.

It’s a trap. And I built it.

Let me be clear about who’s talking, because it matters. I’m not a teacher. My wife, Amy Riddle, is — a master’s in education, a degree in natural resources interpretation, a room of sixth graders currently piloting an app I wrote called Project FLOW, and the Chapter Lead for the whole thing. I’m the environmental scientist in the house. I’ve spent years in rivers and a good while training early-career scientists, but I have never run a middle school classroom, and I’m not going to pretend I could. She teaches. I build the software, hide lessons inside it, and then get to watch — mostly from the other side of the dinner table — what happens when a twelve-year-old trips over one.

The First Year Didn't Go as Planned

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The plan was straightforward. A multiparameter sonde in the Carson River, logging water temperature, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen around the clock. Students at Eagle Valley Middle School would pull the records, run them through quality control, correct the drift, and end the year with a dataset that was genuinely theirs. The Rotary Club of Carson City funded the equipment. The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection provided technical guidance and a continuous temperature logger.