2012 River Heroes: Bill Deutsch and Mike Mullen

Many Alabama Water Watch monitors, Association members, and staff participated in the 14th Annual Alabama Water Rally which is hosted each year by the Alabama Rivers Alliance.  This year’s Rally took place at Camp Beckwith on beautiful Weeks Bay on March 16th-18th. It was a particularly special weekend as participants celebrated several milestones of water protection for Alabama including the 15th Anniversary for Alabama Rivers Alliance (ARA), the 40th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act, and the 20th Anniversary for Alabama Water Watch (AWW). There was even a special birthday cake to commemorate the occasion.

Throughout the weekend participants were given opportunities to expand their knowledge of water policy, advocacy strategies, community organizing, and current water issues facing Alabamians by participating in concurrent sessions led by national experts.  Keynote speakers included Nancy Stoner who is the Acting Assistant Administrator for the U.S.EPA Office of Water.

Continue reading “2012 River Heroes: Bill Deutsch and Mike Mullen”

Earth Teams receive awards for water monitoring

Students from Geraldine, North Sand Mountain and Sardis high schools recently received awards for their Earth Team projects in water monitoring. Chip Blanton, FFA instructor at Fort Payne High School, trained area students in water quality monitoring techniques developed by Alabama Water Watch (AWW). AWW has worked for the past two decades developing water chemistry, bacteriological and stream biomonitoring techniques and training citizen volunteers throughout the state to become water monitors . AWW also conducts train-the-trainer workshops to train and certify volunteer trainers. Mr. Blanton was trained as an AWW trainer, and has conducted over a dozen water monitoring workshops in the Fort Payne-area.

Chip Blanton trains students in water monitoring
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AWW Biomonitoring Workshop a big hit

On Saturday, December 10th, 2011 a group of enthusiastic citizens braved the chilly but beautiful Saugahatchee Creek to learn how benthic macroinvertebrates or “aquatic bugs” can tell us a great deal about water quality. The type of water monitoring technique taught in this workshop is referred to as stream biomonitoring.  Put simply, certain aquatic bugs function as indicators of water pollution. Some types have a high tolerance for pollution; therefore if you only find that type of bug in your stream, your stream is not very healthy. However, there are others that cannot tolerate pollution; therefore if they are present you know that your water quality is good, and has been good for some time.  Stream biomonitoring is a good method for determining current and past impacts to water quality. AWW Director, Bill Deutsch was quoted in the Volunteer Monitor Newsletter saying, “If a pollution slug moves through on Monday and you monitor on Wednesday, the chemistry looks fine, but the bugs know better. They were there. They are mini-meters, 24/7.”


Biomonitor trainees sample Saugahatchee Creek for macroinvertebrates
(click here for more pictures)

Before going to the stream participants learned about the different types of aquatic bugs and what factors, particularly human impacts, affect their presence in a stream. They also learned to classify each bug into the appropriate group based on their tolerance for pollution.  Once they were at the stream they put their kick-net skills to use to collect around 100 macroinvertebrates. Finally they calculated a biotic index using the bugs collected, which indicated that this particular stretch of the Saugahatchee Creek had “excellent” water quality. 

 AWW Director, Bill Deutsch and Data Coordinator, Sergio Ruiz-Córdova led the workshop. Also present were several other AWW staff members,  undergrad and graduate level students from Auburn University, Alabama A&M and the University of Alabama in Huntsville,  municipal staff from Phenix City and Montgomery, a biology teacher, a representative of the Southern Environmental Law Center, and Riverkeepers from the Coosa and Choctawhatchee. In the words of Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper and veteran AWW trainer, Mike Mullen, “The Stream Bioassessment workshop this past Saturday was one of if not the best training workshops that I have ever participated since creation of the AWW program”!

Aquatic critters found in Saugahatchee Creek (click here for more pictures)

AWW intends to offer more opportunities for certification in biomonitoring in the coming year. If you are interested watch our website for upcoming workshops and contact us to let us know that you would like to be part of the next training event.  It’s a great opportunity to spend a day at the creek while increasing your knowledge base of aquatic ecology and expanding your water monitoring technique repertoire. 

Taking AWW to the Next Generation

In November, AWW Program Staff dove into somewhat uncharted AWW territory with the first unofficial Young Water Watchers (YWW) workshop. For some time, AWW has been working to develop a way for younger individuals to take part in water quality monitoring, but because of safety concerns and data validity it has taken some time to get there.  With support and collaboration of the Mill Creek Watershed Project, coordinated by Katie Dylewski, a pilot chemistry and bacteria workshop was facilitated at Central High School (CHS) in Phenix City. 

Students who participated ranged from ages 14-18 and were chosen because of their interest in environmental issues and science. Many will represent CHS in the Alabama Envirothon (www.alabamaenvirothon.org), which is an annual competition where teams compete for recognition by demonstrating their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management. CHS teachers Susan Lawhon and Meredith Curtis and school nurse Cindy Howard participated with the students and will work with them to develop a regular monitoring plan for the on-campus stream which is part of the Mill Creek Watershed. The data they collect will be especially important for evaluating local watershed health because Mill Creek is listed as “impaired” or contaminated by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. The Mill Creek Watershed Project plans to make changes in local land use which will improve water quality in the stream. The student data will help to track changes in the watershed.

Students enjoyed hands-on learning about water quality. One was overheard to say, “I wish biology could always be this fun!” We do too! And we hope that this will be the first of many schools to participate in the Young Water Watchers program.  Thanks to Legacy we will have funds to print a set of water monitoring manuals geared to a younger crowd. If you are interested in partnering with us to teach young students about water monitoring or if you’d like to sponsor a YWW workshop please contact the AWW Office.

(Blue)grassroots Support

Bluegrass music and grassroots support were combined to raise $825.00 for Alabama Water Watch at an Auburn, AL restaurant recently. 
AWW monitors Liz Brennan, Brian Simpson and Donnie Addison, members of the “High Strung Dew Sippers”, along with fellow band members, Ross Wall, Lindsey Lester and  Sidney Simmons, put together an evening of fine music to benefit Alabama Water Watch.  The Big Blue Bagel was the scene and $3 was the cover charge to hear music performed by The ‘Dew Sippers’ and the lead-off group, “Band of Mothers”.  The place was packed, and strumming of banjo, mandolin, guitar, base, fiddle and washboard filled the air.  Many customers chose to donate above the cover charge for the cause.

When these young, talented Alabamians heard that AWW was facing serious funding cuts that will seriously impact AWW’s statewide citizen water monitoring program, they decided to act. Brennan said, “The High Strung Dew Sippers realize that what AWW does is of great importance to Alabama, and is in jeopardy. Since their funding was cut, one way to help save AWW is to get the word out, and encourage people to get involved by donating time and money for this cause. The benefit concert was a fun way to spread the word and raise some money.”

AWW would like to express sincere gratitude to the Dew Sippers, the Band of Mothers and the Big Blue Bagel for their support.  The Dew Sippers set up the venue, arranged the details and publicized the event.  Their initiative shows that great things can be accomplished, and encourages all of us to think of creative ways to keep AWW alive.

Along with raising money, the event also raised a sense of hope and faith in the goodness of our fellow woman and man. Thank you, Dew Sippers for your most generous gift of your time and talent in support of AWW!

Change and Challenges emphasized at AWW Annual Meeting

Alabama Water Watch held its 18th Annual Meeting and Picnic at Comer Hall on the Auburn University campus in June. The event was a success by several measures. More than 80 people from all over the state attended. Nearly all of the state’s river basins were represented. Attendees included AWW volunteer monitors and representatives from elementary/secondary education, higher education, state government nongovernmental organizations and business.

 The meeting began with a pre-meeting computer-lab workshop on AWW web basics and advanced website tools. Participants learned how to access the more than 65, 000 online AWW water quality data records, how to graph water chemistry and bacteria (E. coli) data, and how to evaluate long-term data trends to see if their water quality is getting better or getting worse.

 After the workshop, the meeting officially began. Bill Deutsch, the AWW Program Director, welcomed everyone to a day of looking back and celebrating 19 years of accomplishments, and looking forward to a revitalized and growing Program. He introduced the first speaker, Mike Kensler, President of the Alabama Water Watch Association and Director of the AU Office of Sustainability.

 
Bill Deutsch, AWW Director, welcomes all to the meeting
(click Here for more pictures)

Role of AWWA in AWW’s Data-to-Action Plan

Mike spoke about the role of the Association, the nonprofit arm of AWW, in sustaining and revitalizing AWW. He emphasized that the success of AWW lay in the strength of its three parts: the AU-based AWW Program, all of the AWW groups and monitors throughout the state, and the nonprofit AWW Association. The Association provides support to the statewide AWW Program in the form of financial support, leadership development, monitor group development communications and outreach. He said that people who become members of the Alabama Water Watch Association can provide support to the AWW Program in several different ways, including financial donations, informal advertising and getting the word out about what AWW is and does, and doing presentations to various organizations and groups on AWW’s behalf.

Mike continued by saying that the AWW Story is one of significant accomplishments, and that the stats (number of sites monitored, number of water quality data records, number of trained and certified monitors) is only part of that story. He emphasized that the AWW Program is aspirational – looking toward a brighter future, and grounded on place-based citizen engagement. AWW empowers and facilitates citizens in taking care of the places that they know and love. He contended that this is a powerful idea, and that many people around the state are not clear on what AWW is and does.

Mike said that AWW has followed a well-documented pattern of organizational growth, characterized by sharp upward growth in its early years, then reaching a plateau. This plateau is usually followed by a slow downward trend if the organization is content in maintaining the status quo. Conversely, if the organization re-connects with its core mission and values, it can stimulate a second growth spurt. To this end, the Association developed a Strategic Plan, with the following five goals:

  1. Increase public awareness and appreciation of Alabama Water Watch
  2. Increase local AWW group effectiveness and impacts
  3. Secure stronger, more stable support for AWW from Auburn University
  4. Increase fund raising
  5. Strengthen the AWW Association via strengthening membership and developing a stronger, more committed AWW Association Board of Directors.

Mike stated that water data is the backbone of everything that AWW does – it provides a scientific basis and rigor to citizen activism, which is a powerful force for conservation and positive change. But, he added, data are just numbers unless the numbers are properly interpreted to yield information, understanding and knowledge. Through the sharing and application of new knowledge comes positive action. It is this ‘Data-to-Action’ strategy that is key to a sustainable future for AWW.

Mike emphasized that people can participate and support AWW in several different ways, and water monitoring is just one of them. Other valuable and essential contributions can be made through public outreach and civic engagement. At a recent AWW Trainer-Refresher Workshop, Mike posed the following five thought-provoking questions:

  1. Why do we monitor water?
  2. What do we hope to achieve through our water monitoring?
  3. What does AWW train monitors to do?
  4. What should ‘perfectly-trained’ monitors learn to do?
  5. What additional training would be helpful to move from Water Data to Action?

Here are the responses:

1. We monitor:

    • Because we care
    • To determine the status and trends in water quality of a waterbody
    • To verify if water quality is adequate to support aquatic life
    • To protect and preserve waterbodies for the next generation
    • To address a local environmental impact
    • To support enforcement of environmental regulations
    • For peace of mind.

2. We hope to achieve:

    • Understanding of current water quality conditions
    • Protection and improvement in water quality
    • Improvements in environmental regulations and water management policies
    • Development of a sense of environmental stewardship that fosters positive changes in human behavior
    • Clear demonstration that AWW is a valid and cost-effective means to achieve watershed stewardship.

3. AWW trains monitors to:

    • Accurately test and record water data
    • Be eyes and ears in the field
    • Understand how the state actually works, and how it should ideally work to protect water quality
    • Appreciate their watershed and how it influences their local water quality

‘4. Perfectly-trained’ monitors should learn to:

    • Communicate effectively what AWW and the AWW Association are all about, and why they matter
    • Recruit others to get involved in AWW
    • Interpret their water data
    • Get others to respect and follow AWW monitoring protocols so that the citizen volunteer monitor data maintain their credibility
    • Put AWW water data to use to generate positive action.

5. Training in the following areas would be helpful; to move from Water Data to Action:

    • Watershed management principals
    • How changes in land use affect water quality/quantity
    • How to effectively communicate
    • How monitor groups can effectively connect with their mission, goals and values
    • How to leverage AWW water data
    • How to gain access to other groups and audiences
    • How to spot erosion and sediment control violations
    • Environmental ethics training
    • How to network and build networks
    • How to organize a stream/lake cleanup
    • How to do a press release

Mike said that the Association has developed a ‘Road Show’ presentation to convey why the condition of Alabama’s waters matters, what AWW is doing to protect and preserve them, and what YOU can do to help. He said that the Association would be happy to give this presentation to any group that is interested in learning more about AWW and the Association, and that there are plans to develop a ‘Speakers Bureau’ to give the presentation all over the state.

Mike closed by stating that AWW has been serving the public’s interest throughout the state for the past 19 years – its been about empowering people and their communities to create a more sustainable future. And the challenge for all of us is to ensure that AWW continues to grow and thrive by increasing appreciation and awareness of what AWW is and what it does, and by building a strong, diverse financial base to support AWW now and in the future.

Data to Action – a new AWW Workshop

Eric Reutebuch, longtime AWW staffer, continued on the Data-to-Action theme with a presentation on the development of a brand new AWW workshop devoted to assisting AWW individual monitors and groups in getting positive action out of their water data. This would not only generate positive change for local waterbodies, but be very motivational to AWW monitors to see that their data is valuable.

Eric said that AWW focuses a lot of effort on training and certifying citizen monitors to collect science-based, credible water data. He stated that there are currently over 65,000 data records from all over Alabama that volunteer monitors have inputted to the AWW online database. As a precursor to positive action, he said that citizen monitors need to be knowledgeable about water quality standards to gauge their water data and evaluate if their local water is polluted (oftentimes it is not obvious). He reminded the audience that a great source of info on state water quality standards is their trusty AWW Water Chemistry and Bacteriological Monitoring manuals.

Eric elaborated that a decade of traveling around the state conducting AWW Data Interpretation presentations, coupled with dozens of volunteer monitor success stories (available digitally at www.alabamawaterwatch.org ) forms a solid foundation for developing a new ‘Data-to-Action’ workshop. He added that AWW monitor success stories in environmental education, restoration and protection, and positively impacting local, state and interstate water policy are highlighted on the brand new AWW brochure and poster, available online or from the AWW Office upon request.

He then got into the nuts-and-bolts of how to get action out of YOUR water data, asking what you would do if you saw a fish kill, or an oil slick on the water, or smelled sewage in your creek. A good start is outlined in the new AWW Water Chemistry Monitoring manual. Page 23 of the new manual, titled Recommendations for Reporting Problems, outlines local and state offices and authorities to contact in the event of a problem. It also suggests procedures that a certified water monitor should do in the event of a water pollution problem (collect a water sample, collect and freeze dead fish, monitor the impacted water with your test kit).

In summary, content for the new workshop include:

  •  Looking at trends in your water data
  •  Relating them to water quality standards
  •  Identifying water quality problems
  •  Relating water quality problems to watershed land use
  •  Sourcing the problem – may require more sites and additional sampling
  •  Working toward a solution (start locally)

New Partnerships – Georgia Adopt-A-Stream

Two speakers from Georgia Adopt-A-Stream (AAS), Tara Muenz and Allison Hughes, spoke of evolving new collaboration between their program and AWW. This collaboration was recently formalized through an official Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between GA AAS and AWW, stating that each would accept the others training, certification and citizen water data. This is especially important and relevant in several of the river basins that are shared between the two states – specifically the Coosa, the Tallapoosa, and the Chattahoochee. Tara and Allison went on to describe both certified training (water chemistry, bacteriological and bioassessment) and non-certified training programs conducted by GA AAS (for more information, go to www.georgiaadoptastream.org). They expressed interest in strengthening the blossoming partnership with AWW through future creative and fun activities that cross state boundaries.

What’s New with AWW – Check out our new Website!

Jayme Oates, AWW Association executive director, gave an intro to the brand new AWW website, and some of its many features. Though the address is the same, www.alabamawaterwatch.org, the new site features a fresh new look, the new AWW logo, and many new features. New and enhanced features include:

  • Contacts for AWW staff, AWW Association board members and AWW Trainers throughout Alabama
  • A new ‘Team Room’ where AWW Trainers can access training resources
  • An enhanced ‘Get Involved’ menu that describes the many different ways that citizens can get involved in watershed stewardship and help support Alabama Water Watch
  • An enhanced ‘Event Calendar’ where you can get details on water monitor training workshops and water-related special events
  • The newly-published AWW brochure and poster (available in digital form under the ‘Resources’ menu)
  • A new Frequently Asked Questions feature (under the ‘Resources’ menu)
  • A new online store where you can order AWW water monitoring supplies, the MacroMania bioassessment game and AWW T-shirts.
  • A new AWW Facebook page (click the Facebook icon at the bottom of the AWW homepage).

Jayme encouraged everyone to go to the new AWW webpage and check it out!

20/20 Vision and Closing Remarks

Bill wrapped up the meeting by announcing that next year AWW will celebrate its 20th Anniversary by looking back at 20 years of Program growth and achievement and looking forward to the next 20 years of innovation in AWW Data-to-Action. He enumerated two focus areas in this 20/20 Vision:

  1. Celebration of AWW’s 20 years of achievement in statewide water monitoring and watershed stewardship, highlighted with a:
    • New logo
    • New website
    • New brochure
    • New monitoring manual
  1. Challenges in:
    • Keeping the pipeline full by recruiting new water monitors as veteran monitors retire
    • Making your monitoring relevant through embracing a Data-to-Action mentality
    • Sustaining the AWW Program through strengthening its funding.

Bill shared that he’d recently received a letter with some unexpected news. In it, ADEM stated their inability to fund the AWW Program if proposed cuts in funding from EPA materialized. ADEM was appealing to EPA to reconsider the cuts, stating that AWW water data is vital in enabling ADEM to focus its water quality monitoring efforts. Bill said that many believe that the AWW Program is fully funded by Auburn University, which is NOT true. He clarified that AWW has received its base grant through ADEM’s 319 Program to the tune of $120,000-190,000 per year, and the current level is about $160,000 for the statewide AWW water monitoring program.

In the face of this news, Bill emphasized AWW’s response:

  1. Developing a stronger nonprofit Association and strengthened ties among the Association, the AWW Program and AWW monitoring groups throughout the state
  2. A more focused Data-to-Action approach in Restoration/Protection, Environmental Education, and Advocacy/Policy
  3. Fostering the formation of new AWW groups through more active and creative recruitment of new monitors and watershed stewards
  4. Developing and employing new tools and technologies to aid groups in Data-to-Action strategies.

Bill continued saying that AWW will be pursuing funding in new and creative ways in the near-future. He then asked Mike Mullen to come forward to make an announcement. Mike is a founding member of the AWW Association, one of the first AWW citizen trainers and the River Keeper for the Choctawhatchee River. Mike started by emphasizing that AWW data is important. In a recent effort working with ADEM, almost all of the Choctawhatchee River was upgraded to Swimming classification, and through the use of AWW water data (Mike’s data) the extent of the reclassification was expanded. He said that AWW was too good of a program to let die, and to that end, he and his wife Alice were donating $10, 000 to the AWW Association in the form of a challenge – challenging the Association to raise funding to match this amount to help in establishing stable, long-term support for Alabama Water Watch. He added that all AWW Association Board members had pledged at the $250/year level to AWW during the previous evening’s board meeting (at the Dragonfly Sponsorship level – for information on the various levels of sponsorship click the ‘Get Involved’ menu on the website). 

Bill closed by thanking Mike and Alice for their generous support of AWW and with advice from Richard Rohr, author of Falling Upward: a Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life – Be a hero! He added ‘true heroism serves the common good, and is concerned about the next generation, not just oneself’ – words for all of us to aspire to!

 

Lake Watch of Lake Martin teams up with AWW to enhance student learning

What began as a one-time environmental program for a local school has blossomed into a multi-year project. In early 2010, Laurie Barrett, who teaches gifted 5th & 6th grade students at Radney School in Alexander City, asked Dick and Mary Ann Bronson if volunteers from Lake Watch of Lake Martin could visit her classroom and provide a program about water quality.  During the initial visit, it was quickly determined that there was ample opportunity for an expanded environmental education program, and the wheels began turning.

To start with, Lake Watch wanted to focus on water quality and future issues facing Lake Martin. But they also wanted to broaden the program’s scope to “The World Around Us” by using a variety of presentations by folks from Auburn University, particularly Alabama Water Watch.

The project began September 2010 and will continue through May 2011.  Lake Watch volunteers, and now staff members from Alabama Water Watch (AWW), visit the school two days every month.  Thursdays are for morning and afternoon groups of 5th-graders, and Fridays are for two similar 6th-grade groups.  The high point of each session is a hike along a stream behind the school that goes to the Alexander City SportPlex and ultimately flows into Lake Martin.  The students named the stream “Barrett Creek” after their teacher.

The first program began with a general discussion of watersheds and the three AWW water testing procedures,  Water Chemistry (LaMotte test kit), Bacteriological Monitoring (Coliscan Easygel method), and Stream Biomonitoring (or Living Streams; go to www.alabamawaterwatch for more information on test procedures and training opportunities). 

Students collected water samples from Barrett Creek for chemical and bacterial testing.  They obtained a water sample upstream where debris was frequently found and downstream near the waterwheel at the Alexander City Sportplex They also searched for macroinvertebrates and, based on their findings, determined that the stream is impaired. Upstream high levels of manganese were found (from tests done at the Auburn University Soils Lab) but downstream the levels were in the normal range.  Students learned that nature can take care of itself by naturally filtering the water and assimilating pollutants. 

During the fall season the students expanded their knowledge of AWW techniques.  They learned about bacteria by testing water samples taken from school commodes and restroom surfaces.  A homemade incubator was placed in the classroom for their use.  Students placed water drawn from a dropper into a special Petri dish.  Twenty four hours later, they could see a series of blue dots (colonies) indicating the presence of bacteria.  Red dots indicated that E. coli were present.  And needless to say, they found E. coli bacteria…especially from commodes that had not been properly flushed.  Students also learned how to calculate the number of bacteria colonies that were present in the water samples. 

They learned about pH and other chemical parameters from Lake Watch board member Tom Lynch, a retired chemist who used spiked water samples to enhance the learning process.  .  Students were given color-coded charts going from pH equal to zero (battery acid, represented as red) to pH equal to14 (lye, represented as blue).   Students discovered that bleach, ammonia, and lemon juice had been added to water based on results of their pH tests of various spiked samples. 

The January 2011 session had Sergio Ruiz and Mona Scruggs teaching more about watersheds using the EnviroScape terrain model and colored water samples to show how erosion and polluted stormwater runoff affect waterbodies.  Students learned that our Tallapoosa Watershed begins in Georgia and eventually empties into the Gulf of Mexico.  They also learned that watersheds come in lots of different sizes by comparing them to a series of different mixing bowls inside one another.  This was a great visual that helped students understand how one watershed drains into a larger one, as streams and rivers make their way to the sea. 

Click here for more pictures of the Enviroscape program

In February Bill Deutsch and Sergio took the students on a trip around the world using hats they had collected during their travels for Global Water Watch.  Student “models” wore selected hats while others tried to guess which countries were represented.  Students were able to see first-hand how people deal with water issues.  In areas of extreme drought, villagers harvest the water from their roofs into tanks safely, as long as they keep their roofs clean. 

Click here for more pictures of the ‘World Hats’ program

Students then made a direct connection to the pond built this year at the school as a water harvesting system that is fed from a 300-gallon-tank rooftop catchment system.  They could understand, on a small scale, what it is like to not have enough water from the tank to fully maintain their pond during drought conditions.  They found it hard to believe that some people’s livelihoods depended on how much water they can collect.  Then a discussion took place about water quality and quantity problems in each of these countries.  The kids not only got a valuable perspective on water around the world but a wonderful geography lesson as well.

March will bring refresher sessions by Lake Watch volunteers on the three AWW testing protocols, to be followed in April by AWW Lab Chief Wendy Seesock talking about algae using a projection microscope. The program will culminate in May when the students get the full Living Streams experience at Elkahatchee Creek, a stream known for high water quality.  Students will discover what types of macroinvertebrates are found in a stream with high water quality, compared to Barrett Creek, where virtually none were found.

So what began as a modest class request has turned into a full-blown environmental education project that couples a local AWW group and Auburn University staffers with a local school.  It is estimated that by the May program, Lake Watch volunteers and AWW staff will have provided about 140 contact hours to the Radney School project.  Fifty gifted students’ lives have been changed forever because of their dedication and generosity. 

Which invites the question – how does one gauge the impact of such a program on young minds? Let’s ask the kids for their thoughts on the program thus far:

Program #1: Sergio the Fantastic and Mona the Magnificent

Water Watch has taught us a lot of things like water all over the world and watersheds in Alabama.  Mr. Sergio and Ms. Mona came and told us about the 11 main watersheds in Alabama. They also brought an Enviroscape and talked about direct and indirect pollution from buildings, cars, tractors and houses.  When it rains, it carries all of the pollution into the lakes.  The AWW team has taught everyone here a lot about the water and how we can take care of it.  We love for them to come and I can’t wait until the next time they come!

Michael McGill, 6th grade student

Program #2: Learning About the World with Hats

Our time with the AWW has been great!  My favorite time was when Mr. Sergio & Dr. Deutsch came and presented a power point about where they had gone and done water testing.  Some of the places were:  the Philippines, Peru, Brazil and Alabama.  Dr. Deutsch and Mr. Sergio brought hats from around the world.  I got to wear a hat from Ecuador.  You can always remember Ecuador is by the equator because they sound alike.  It was very fun! 

Savannah Bush, 6th grade student

 

This anecdote may also help provide an answer. One of the students, a girl in 5th grade, had an exciting announcement for Mary Ann. She said that she hoped to get a LaMotte water test kit for Christmas!

As for the future, Lake Watch has committed to another school year of environmental education for the Radney 5th & 6th grade gifted students for 2011-12.  A modest grant will again be provided by Lake Watch to cover travel expenses for AWW staff members. And who knows where this might go – possible creation of a new AWW endeavor such as ‘Junior Water Watchers’?  Stay tuned.