Background
Located on the Episcopal High School campus in Alexandria Virginia (38°49.568'N; 077°05.680'W; 239' elev.), Anderson Pond serves as a holding basin for water runoff from Episcopal High School's thirty-two and a half acres of athletic fields. It was built in the summer of 1997 to commemorate the memory of student Caroline Elizabeth Anderson, who passed away during the 1994-1995 school year.
The pond has become a useful educational tool for Episcopal's science department, serving both students and teachers alike. Beginning in the fall term of the 1998-1999 scholastic year students have been monitoring the biological and chemical health of the pond by performing such tests as; Secchi depth, phosphate, nitrate, pH, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen count as well as the observation of insects, algae, and macroinvertebrates. Besides recording the results of the aforementioned tests, students improved the aesthetic and biological qualities of the pond by altering the physical appearance. The introductions of plant and animal life were the two primary methods involved in the physical enhancements of the pond. Twenty-five cattails, one hundred and twenty-five Channel Catfish, seventy-five Sunfish, and seventy-five Red Ear were all introduced over the course of the 1998-1999 school year. Over the course of the years that followed the pond has continued to develop. Chemical and biological measures have stabilized, and the introduced plants and fish thrive. Spring "05 was ushered in by the croaking of the frogs that have now found a home on the Episcopal campus. The diligent eyes of Episcopal High School students closely watch the 750,000 gallons of water that rest in the three quarters of an acre Anderson Pond.