Students in Newton, Iowa worked to change the name of a local creek from "Sewer Creek" to "Cardinal Creek" as a community project. Their AP biology class studied the creek and worked to raise awareness of its importance. They conducted polls, wrote letters, and gave presentations to change the creek's name through official channels. Adopting the school mascot "Cardinal" as the new name has given the creek visibility and transformed it into a source of pride for the town. Future classes will continue environmental studies of the creek and develop restoration plans.

1. From Sewer Creek to Cardinal Creek
How Students in a struggling Iowa town renamed a forgotten
creek and transformed it into a source of community pride.
SWCS International Annual Conference, Monday July 29, 11:10 am
Courtney Wolken, AP Biology Teacher, Newton (Iowa) Senior High School
Steve Hopkins, Nonpoint Source Coordinator, Iowa Dept of Natural Resources

2. Background
● Iowa’s Nonpoint
Source Management
Plan calls for a
statewide water quality
education campaign
● Statewide WQ survey
found that many
Iowans don’t even
know the name of their
local creek

3. School / Community
Connection
● Looking to update
the AP Biology -
Ecology Unit
● Local project
● Introduced to Steve
through Keri Van
Zante (Jasper
County Conservation
Director)
Site 2, Upstream, October 2018

4. The Town
● Newton, Iowa
● 15,000 residents
● Located 35 miles
east of Des Moines
● 2007 closure of
Maytag appliance
headquarters and
factories was a huge
community loss

7. The School
● Newton Senior High
● 819 students (2018)
● School Mascot is the
“Cardinal”
● AP Biology

9. The Creek
● Formerly named
“Sewer Creek”
● Begins next to
Newton High School
● Flows through the
“Children’s Forest”
● Flows for 18 miles to
the S. Skunk River

12. Why this creek?
● Visible from the
classroom
● Students utilize the path
that connects the
school to Maytag park.
● Relevant to their daily
lives

14. Class Steps
1. Took a poll of their
class and AP Chem to
decide on a name.
2. Researched the history
of the creek.
3. In pairs, wrote letters
to the US Geological
Survey in favor of a
name change.
AP Biology 2015-2016

15. 4. Asked community
members to write
letters.
5. Spoke to the School
Board for a letter of
recommendation.
6. Along with their
teacher, filled out the
online proposal
form.
7. Spread community
awareness by
sharing this with the
Newton Daily News. Emily Bollhoefer (student), Courtney Wolken (teacher) May 15, 2017

16. The Signs
● Cardinal Creek signs
installed on I-80 and
on S. 12th Avenue
West in Newton gave
visibility to the creek
and its new name

17. Why is changing
a creek name
important?
● Communicate awareness
about stream health to the
student body / community
● Learn about environmental
policy
● Partnership with
community organizations
● Continue investigations
with future AP Bio classes
Winter Stream Testing, Site 1, 2017

18. Quotes
“We realized, hey, we actually helped them in a way and were apart of
something”, Rachel Rhoads 2019.
“I have lived next next to this creek when I was a child and played
there while I was a kid... It would be a great thing that the creek would
be named Cardinal for the Mascot of the Newton Cardinals”, Kelly
Bollhoefer 2017.

19. From Sewer
Creek...
● Students began
sampling the creek
for pollutants
● Researched
streambank erosion
● Conducted a Stream
Bank Assessment
using a RASCAL
● No longer a “sewer”
Spring Stream Testing, Site 3, 2018

20. To Cardinal Creek!
● Future classes will
develop a creek
restoration plan
● Cardinal Creek is
now visible to
students and the
community
● The creek name is
now a symbol of
school pride

21. U.S. Board on Geographic Names
https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/ngp/board-on-geographic-
names

22. Any Questions?
wolkenc@newton.k12.ia.us
stephen.hopkins@dnr.iowa.gov
AP Biology 2019