Moruya Highschool science teacher Matt Edenborough wants students to be equipped with skills and knowledge to pursue careers monitoring the environment.

Mr Edenborough started a program for year 8 and 9 students to run a year-long investigation monitoring the effects of the school's agricultural plot on the neighbouring Mantle Hill Creek.

Mr Edenborough, who formerly worked in environmental monitoring in Mudgee, said the lessons were a great stepping stone into careers monitoring the environment.

"We are using all the processes actually used in the industry," he said.

"The program is a real-world application of processes students might actually use in the future."

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Throughout the year students will collect weekly water samples from two sites along Mantle Hill Creek - before and after the creek runs through the school's agricultural plot.

They will perform tests to measure the pH, turbidity and salinity of the water. Students will be able to trace changes in these measurements between the two sites over time and relate the results to external factors.

"For example, they will trace changes in these samples after rainfall or after the agricultural plot has been fertilised," Mr Edenborough said.

Mr Edenborough was excited for the project because students were out of the classroom and did something practical, with a whole year committed to a long-term project.

"Science topics go for five weeks," he said. "You don't often get the opportunity to do long-term projects. With this, they will trace changes over time in a complex system."

He said students were enthusiastic to be a part of the project, and were already becoming proficient at performing the tests.

The program is a part of Moruya Highschool's new roll-call program - allowing students to select a topic that interests them from an array of options including sport, music, media and agriculture and commit to a year-long project in their chosen area.