{"id":4724,"date":"2026-07-28T13:31:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T17:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/?p=4724"},"modified":"2026-08-06T14:10:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T18:10:28","slug":"soil-and-groundwater-contamination-and-remediation-field-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/soil-and-groundwater-contamination-and-remediation-field-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Soil and Groundwater Contamination and Remediation Field School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Soil and Groundwater Contamination and Remediation Field School is a partnership between the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/\">University of Rhode Island<\/a> (URI) and the <a href=\"https:\/\/dem.ri.gov\/\">Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management <\/a>(RIDEM) that gives students hands-on experience assessing and remediating contaminated sites. Working alongside URI faculty and RIDEM professionals, participants combine classroom learning with fieldwork to develop practical skills in environmental investigation and cleanup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Students Do<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Site Assessment <\/strong><br>Students learn how to identify and evaluate subsurface contamination through<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Soil boring and sampling<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Photoionization detector (PID) screening<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Monitoring well installation using the Geoprobe\u00ae system<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Groundwater gauging and sampling<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Remediation <\/strong><br>Students also gain experience with remediation efforts, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Slug testing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Evaluating and selecting remediation technologies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Are We Doing Now?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This summer, the field school is installing small pumping wells for cattle. Students gain hands-on experience with well installation, pumping, and hydrogeological testing while contributing to a real-world project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Participate?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The field school gives students experience beyond the classroom while building technical skills sought by environmental employers. Participants work directly with professionals from URI and RIDEM and contribute to real-world environmental projects.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2336\/IMG_5494.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4737\" style=\"width:306px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2336\/IMG_5494.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2336\/IMG_5494-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2336\/IMG_5494-364x485.jpeg 364w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2336\/IMG_5494-500x667.jpeg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This summer, participants are installing small pumping wells for cattle while learning well installation, pumping, and hydrogeological testing through a real-world project at URI&#8217;s Peckham Farm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Program Details<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Q.<\/strong> <strong>When is the field school offered?<\/strong><br>A. The field school runs year-round. Field activities are conducted from spring through fall, weather permitting, while workshops are held online during the winter months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Q. How do I apply?<\/strong><br>A. Students interested in participating should contact one of the program coordinators listed below with a brief description of their background and major. Preference will be given to applicants who have taken or are currently enrolled in a course taught by Professor Boving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Q.<\/strong> <strong>Where does the field school take place?<\/strong><br>A. Winter workshops are held online. Field activities take place at <a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/aes\/farms\/peckham-farm\/\">Peckham Farm <\/a>on the URI Kingston Campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Q. Is transportation provided?<\/strong><br>A. No. Students are responsible for their own transportation to field activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Q. Is there a fee?<\/strong><br>A. There is currently no fee to participate. However, students should expect a moderate time commitment of approximately 10 hours per subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Program Leadership<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The field school is coordinated by: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Dr.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/meet\/thomas-boving\/\">Tom Boving<\/a>, professor and chair of the Department of Earth Sciences, Planning, and Design at URI<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/dem.ri.gov\/people\/michael-cote\">Michael Cote<\/a>&nbsp;environmental scientist with RIDEM&#8217;s Underground Storage Tank Management Program and Office of Land Revitalization and Sustainable Materials Management<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/dem.ri.gov\/people\/jillian-thompson\">Jillian Thompson<\/a>, RIDEM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more information and to apply, please contact: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"mailto:tboving@uri.edu\">tboving@uri.edu<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:michael.cote@dem.ri.gov\">michael.cote@dem.ri.gov<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:lina.fuentezlopez.int@dem.ri.gov\">lina.fuentezlopez.int@dem.ri.gov<\/a>, or&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:Jillian.Thompson@dem.ri.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">jillian.Thompson@dem.ri.gov<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Soil and Groundwater Contamination and Remediation Field School is designed to provide students with hands-on experience in well drilling, soil and groundwater sampling and other environmental field activities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1089,"featured_media":4735,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1089"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4724"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4739,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4724\/revisions\/4739"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/espd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}