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Community of Science Experts and Educators Support Local "Watershed Watchers" Program in Florida
In a true community collaborative effort, local scientific experts and educators teamed up to create "Watershed Watchers," a project for fifth graders run through The Pier Aquarium and housed in Campbell Park Elementary Marine Science Center, an elementary school in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Watershed Watchers will monitor a local stream called Booker Creek (see The Pier Aquarium's Community Outreach). Organizers hope to develop this effort into a regional Watershed Watchers network. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hydrologist Ann Tihansky explained: "The USGS wants to help increase community awareness and interest in the coastal and water resources of the region. This partnership is a way to let educators know about many of the USGS coastal and watershed resources." USGS hydrologist Victor Levesque worked behind the scenes to help University of South Florida researchers select and instrument a site for a stream-gaging station now operating in the creek's watershed. The watershed drains an area subject to urban, commercial, and industrial land use in southeastern Pinellas County, Fla., and is within several hundred feet of Campbell Park Elementary Marine Science Center—literally in the school's backyard. The stream-gaging station includes a complete water-quality-monitoring system for gathering such real-time data as water temperature, water level, pH, and dissolved oxygen, as well as a meteorological tower that measures windspeed, air temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, precipitation, and conductivity. (To see the latest observations, visit COMPS Station - Campbell Park.) The project resulted from a grant from the Pinellas County Education Foundation and a partnership between the school, The Pier Aquarium, and the University of South Florida's College of Marine Science (USF-CMS). Funds from the Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction System (COMPS) also provided support. Campbell Park is a marine-science magnet school and educationally focused on increasing understanding of marine science and the coastal zone. Efforts and planning led by Mark Luther, associate professor at the USF-CMS Ocean Modeling and Prediction Laboratory, and E. Howard Rutherford, executive director of The Pier Aquarium, initiated the program with Jim Steen, principal of the Campbell Park Elementary Marine Science Center. "Watershed Watchers" is designed to be "a true learning laboratory" and a way for teachers and students to connect with scientists and their local resources. More than 20 teachers attended an informal workshop at Campbell Park Elementary school to learn more about the site and how to incorporate watershed science and real-time data into their school's curriculum. The Watershed Watchers will share their data and observations with others through the Environmental Distance Learning (EDL) Web site. The workshop included an overview of methods used to measure streamflow, a basic discussion on water quality, a description of USGS World Wide Web resources, both educational and scientific, and an introduction to several real-time data networks, such as the USGS' National Water Information System (NWIS), USF's Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS), and COMPS. The group of scientists, educators, and school administrators who planned the workshop consisted of Mark Luther and Cliff Merz, USF; Karen Henschen, Pier Aquarium; Pauline Luther, EDL; principal Jim Steen, Campbell Park Elementary Marine Science Center; and hydrologists Victor Levesque and Ann Tihansky, USGS. More training sessions will be offered and informational materials provided to teachers in the fall.
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in this issue:
Biologists Count Parasites to Assess Health of Marsh Researcher Studies Effects of African Dust on Human and Coral Health Water Temperature Restricts Distribution of Coho Salmon in Redwood Creek
Scientists and Educators Support "Watershed Watchers" Program George Crekos' 30-Year Career Celebrated Geography Students Speak Out at Science Symposium
National Wetlands Research Center Staff Win Awards for Publications
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U. S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
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