Native Waters is a comprehensive four-year tribal science education program focused on water. Working closely with leaders from 28 Missouri River Basin Tribes, the project will explore the Missouri River Flood Basin from a scientific and cultural standpoint. Partners are The Watercourse and International Project WET (Water Education for Teachers). Activities include Leadership Institutes for community educators and Native Waters Future Leaders Camps for secondary school and college students. Products to be developed include an interactive traveling exhibit, which will focus on the Missouri River watershed and the physical properties of water, as well as its uses from a cultural and scientific standpoint. The exhibit will travel to cultural centers, tribal colleges and school libraries throughout the ten Missouri River Basin states. A 250-page Native Water's Educators Guide will be disseminated nationally and impact over 500,000 individuals, both youth and adults. Finally, a 16-page student activity book and a Native Waters film will be produced to introduce youth and community members to water resource issues. The training materials will be used in cultural centers, museums, area water councils and schools.
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Bonnie Sachatello-SawyerDennis Nelson
The Land Information Access Association seeks funds to support planning activities related to "Listening to the River," a project that will ultimately result in a new model for engaging teens and adults in environmental activities that can be transferred to other community groups and institutions. This long-term project focuses on an environmentally and regionally meaningful topic (i.e. watersheds), brings together teens and adults in scientific discovery, transforms these explorations into radio segments and creates a children's museum exhibit. Planning grant activities include: (1) a program summit to build new partnerships with informal-learning organizations and reinforce existing community networks; (2) assessment of the potential for a scalable, model project; and (3) focus and refinement of program goals and objectives.
In 2004, the City of Menomonie updated its storm water management plan to minimize storm water runoff, encourage storm water infiltration and reduce sediment and nutrient deposition in the storm water conveyance system and waterways. This plan complies with the requirements of the EPA Phase II and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource (WDNR) NR 151 and NR 216 storm water regulations that affect the City of Menomonie. Under the education and information chapter of the plan, the following recommendation is mentioned: “We recommend that the City and the University of Wisconsin-Stout partner and work together to ensure that positive steps are taken within the City of Menomonie watershed and Galloway Creek sub-watershed”. In order to meet that specific storm water management recommendation, students enrolled in the BIO 111 course (Science, Society and the Environment) collect and analyze water quality data within specific sections of Galloway Creek and submit their results in a stream report.
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Krista JamesWisconsin Water Action Volunteers ProgramCity of Menomonie
Water Logging is a volunteer water quality monitoring program, that monitors water quality in the Huntington-Northport Bay Complex in Long Island, NY. The goals and objectives of the Water Logging Program are to: 1. Educate and involve the public in water quality assessment and protection. 2. Develop a sense of stewardship among the community in the Huntington-Northport Bay watershed. 3. Screen for water quality impairments and determine long-term water quality trends. 4. Document effects of water quality improvement programs. 5. Provide useful water quality data to interested parties and the public.
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Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County
The Great Lakes Story is a 3,000 sq. ft. interactive traveling exhibit based on the highly successful and unique permanent exhibition at the Great Lakes Science Center. Its focus is devoted to highlighting the natural history of the Great Lakes ecosystem. The traveling exhibit will allow even more visitors around the country to understand the beauty, majesty and restoration efforts of this important national resource. Through a planned six-year tour, it is estimated "The Great Lakes Story" will be experienced by as many as three million people. There will be several components, including hands-on exhibits, organized with a centerpiece of a walk-around model of the Great Lakes region, and other interactive components. The four major areas of the exhibit are physical characteristics of the Lakes, the natural cycles and processes which shaped them over time, changes and threats to the Lakes (especially human-induced), and finally, restoration efforts to bring the Lakes back to being the rich and productive ecosystem they should be. Along with these exhibit areas, other project components are educational and marketing materials to ensure that host science centers are able to provide a complete learning experience to their youth, family, and adult audiences around the country.
MY NASA DATA attempts to make NASA satellite data about the Earth available in a form that is accessible to the public through a standard web browser. For citizen scientists, the project has identified a number of science project ideas which tie local observations to the larger context and history available from satellite data. A mentor network is also available for relevant questions, and people with expertise are welcome to join it. We welcome reports of interesting projects carried out by citizen scientists using this resource.
AMC's Mountain Watch is a citizen scientist monitoring program whereby hikers monitor and report the timing of alpine and mountain forest flowers bud break and flowering and document air quality from mountain vistas. Mountain Watch plant observations will aid researchers in understanding how and by what magnitude the biota on the mountains are responding to observed statistical changes in climate variables like temperature and snowmelt.