AWW Staffers Mona and Sydney were up in beautiful Florence, AL in early November to train the AWWesome staff from the Lauderdale County Extension Office and a former 4-H AWW student monitor who is now a teacher using AWW with her own students!
The workshop location was at McFarland Park right on the breathtaking Tennessee River at sunset. Can you imagine a more wonderful spot? (Until it became too dark to see our turbidity results, of course). Our water chemistry monitoring results looked good and we were able to spot a few fragments of crinoid fossils in the water!
We were kept plenty of company by the folks attending the nearby Bass Masters Fishing Tournament and wrapped up the training with a delicious meal at the River Bottom Grille!
Sarah was a student at Hamilton High School in Marion County, where teacher Kacy Cobb lead one of the first groups of 4-H AWW Youth Monitors. Sarah loved 4-H AWW so much she decided study biology in college, and then bring 4-H AWW to her own students! (Blog post coming soon with more details about Sarah’s story).
Tim Gothard, Whitney Wilcoxson, and Jeffrey Calvert from the Lauderdale County Extension Office were excited to get certified in water chemistry monitoring and support Sarah as she does 4-H AWW with her class.
Visiting Ivy Green
The day following the workshop, Mona was able to realize her childhood dream of visiting the birthplace of Helen Keller, Ivy Green in Tuscumbia, AL!
Helen Keller’s Water Story
Helen Keller was born at Ivy Green in Tuscumbia, Alabama on June 27, 1880.
The word “water” played a key role in Keller’s breakthrough with language when her teacher Anne Sullivan signed w-a-t-e-r while running cool water over Keller’s hand.
In her autobiography, The Story of My Life, Keller recounts, “I knew then that w-a-t-e-r meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. The living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, set it free!”
Sydney stands by the well where Anne Sullivan signed w-a-t-e-r to Helen Keller. Photo credit: Mona Dominguez