Editor's Note: The following is the third story in a three-part series looking at the project that given Paul Ritter and his conservation class a nomination for the Indianapolis Award, a a prestigious award in environmental science.

Paul Ritter might be excused to have been thinking of himself as a bit of a mad scientist. But the reality is the celebrated Pontiac Township High School science instructor's plan has been directed at an environmental study on what is taking place and offering a solution to the problem.

Like most everything else in the world of science, there are many factors taking place that lead to a specific results. Ritter has been directing his students, who have formed a number of groups, into working on a solution to saving endangered species while walking down differing paths.

It is this work that has Ritter in name, and the class in effort, as a nominee for the prestigious Indianapolis Award.

There is a group testing water, another creating a pollinator and third working on the climate as they add to the method of Ritter's “madness” in trying to save the planet in some small way.

Kimberly Fitzsimmons and Mason Rork are working on testing water in the Vermillion River. This is important for many reasons, not the least is helping create a livable environment for the devil crayfish, which, in turn, will help produce a place for the Hind's emerald dragonfly to prosper. The dragonfly is an endangered species.

“We gathered 20 samples of water along the Vermillion River and we're having it sent in or tested ourselves to see the different pharmaceuticals found in it,” Fitzsimmons said in a recent interview.

“Right now, we're working with a company that's going to do the testing, Abraxis,” Rork added. “We're talking to them about whether they will give us one of their machines for us to test the water ourselves.”

The testing is for drugs that might have found their way into the waterway, which then acts as a pollutant that will harm life.

“There's a connection,” Rork said of the various projects. “Water is essential to every organism on the planet, especially the ones that live in it. If there are drugs in the water, it's going to affect the lives of the animals.”

“The goal is to see what can be found in the water and be able to react based on that,” Fitzsimmons added. “If there a lot of pharmaceuticals and things in the water, we would be able to be aware and do something about it.”

The group was at a standstill in testing because of the need for more equipment.

Another factor involving water is the climate and how acid rain has created issues.

Logan Gray is working on the climate testing, which involves laboring at the cemetery.

“My project is measuring five different locations on several different tombstones at Southside Cemetery,” Gray said. “We're doing that to measure the effects of acid rain over a period of several months to see what happens to the tombstones, to see how much decay.”

This is a project that has spanned a number of years and students. Its importance is making sure there is a livable environment.

“It relates to climate change because acid rain is created from hydrogen ions, which are created from the burning of fossil fuels,” Gray said. “The burning of fossil fuels goes into our atmosphere and creates acid rain.

“It can affect anything in our environment. It can affect pollinators, certain species, the water. It's different but it ties in because of the acid rain. The tombstones are just a specific example of what acid rain affects.”

Gray pointed out that it is easier to measure the acid rain issue with the tombstones because of what it does to them. Specifically, it leaves black streaks and creates large cracks, he said.

“A lot of this is directed at the burning of fossil fuels,” Gray added. “It shows how we are affecting the environment by putting these fumes into our atmosphere.”

The Monarch butterfly is a species that is disappearing. The group of of Gunnar Olesen, Maryssa Woodworth and Myranda Styner are working on a pollinator near Pontiac Correctional Center to help the Monarch.

“We started this as a project for our class, it's called the 'Mycelia Project,' Woodworth said. “When it was nice enough to go outside and the plants were growing, we have a pollinator plant in front of the prison where we would go and harvest the milkweed pods, where the seeds are. We are currently working on separating the fluff and the seed from inside of those pods.”

“After separating the fluff and the seeds, once we get the clay we ordered, we're going to start mixing fertilizer, the seeds and the clay into little balls, which we will throw in empty fields to plant the milkweed all over,” Olesen said.

The Monarch pollinator relies on the milkweed plant being a weed, which means it should be able to expand by spreading its seeds all over, much like any other weed.

“The milkweed population, if it increases, will help increase the Monarch butterfly population,” Styner said. “As caterpillars, the only thing the Monarch will eat is the milkweed plant.”

It's the milkweed where the Monarch gets its poison and makes it not appetizing, as opposed to the similar-looking Viceroy.

“Once it gets reasonable outside and the ground thaws, we'll be back in the field planting and harvesting as much as we can so we can get a viable food source for when the Monarchs return,” Styner added.

“We want to start planting milkweeds and throwing around those seed bombs in early January so they will have time to grow by spring,” added Olesen.

The connection between taking water samples from the Vermillion, studying acid rain and its effects on the environment and creating pollinators is only a part of the picture that includes the P2D2 project, as well as the re-introduction of the alligator snapping turtle project is what has allowed for Ritter's class to be so forward in working at saving the environment and bringing back species native to the area.

A committee and jury will trim the final field to six finalists and then decide on the winner. The winner receives a $250,000 award while each finalists receives $10,000. The winner will be announced on Sept. 12.