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Wakarusa Wetlands Learners Project Brainstorming sessions – 10/23/2007 – Lawrence Public Library
Resource People Present: Travis Boley – Association Manager for Oregon-California Trails Association Jeanne Klein* – Director of Kansas University Theater for Young People Carey Maynard-Moody* – V-President & Chair of Water Quality for Sierra Club Wakarusa Group Patty Ogle – City of Lawrence Storm Water Quality Technician Rex Powell* – Education Chair for Jayhawk Audubon Society, President of Grassland Heritage Foundation Stan Roth* – Wildlife & Parks, Kansas Biological Survey Anthea Scoufas – Director of Education & Outreach for Lied Center of Kansas, Randy Stout – Coordinator of Research & Development for Kansas Board of Regents’ Kan-Ed project,
WWL Project Coordinators: Alison Reber* – Executive Director of Kaw Valley Heritage Alliance, Coordinator of Internships for WWL project Sandy Sanders – Education Committee of Jayhawk Audubon Society, Coordinator of Schools and Facilitators for WWL project)
*Facilitator for WWL field activities
Overview: The statistics below indicate the breadth of involvement in the Wakarusa Wetlands Learners project so far. More schools have scheduled since these were compiled. Not only have sixth grade students been very positive about their wetlands experience, teachers and chaperones have been expressing great enthusiasm for what they’ve learned about this unique environment. Approximately one-third of the students and chaperones coming on WWL trips have never been to the Wakarusa wetlands, including some who’ve lived in Lawrence for 50 years. It’s the ripple effect of this exposure that will be infinite.
· Lawrence Public Schools & Community Participants (12 Teachers, 100 Chaperones, 428 Students)· Est. Total Student/Field Contact = 856 Hours· Est. Total Student/Class Content = 1712 Hours· Est. Total Student Wetland Education: 2568 Hours (107 DAYS)Consensus among those present on Oct. 23 was to continue the project’s focus on wetlands for many reasons: a wetlands ecosystem is a timely focus for attention; it’s an environmentally sensitive and crucially important ecosystem; global warming gives new impetus for reconnecting people of all ages with essential natural environments; issues in Lawrence make wetlands especially prevalent in media engaging adults & children; Wakarusa wetlands is on the edge of the city, so very accessible and financially feasible for busing; a wetlands environment is a noticeably different environment that gets kids’ and adults’ attention.
Audience: The WWL project uses field trips to the Wakarusa wetlands as a focal point for generating several layers of community education. These are among the “learner audiences” impacted: 6th graders, interns, teachers of life sciences in upper elementary grades, community volunteers, facilitators seeking opportunities to share or expand their expertise, and the general community.
Funding & Resources: Wetland Learner field trips currently have 3 direct funding sources and multiple indirect sources. For a number of years the Jayhawk Audubon Society (JAS) has underwritten various educational endeavors related to Baker Wetlands. They have agreed to continue funding bus transportation to the wetlands through the 08/09 school year. The Elizabeth Schultz Environmental Fund through the Douglas County Community Foundation provided funding for 2007. Combined JAS & ESEF directly funded busing, supplies, intern stipends, and compensation for Sandy’s school/facilitator recruitment & coordination. The Kaw Valley Heritage Alliance (KVHA) utilized funding from the Kansas Dept. of Health & Environment (KDHE) to provide Alison’s time for intern oversight, materials development, the development of preliminary web resources, and general program development. KDHE’s funding was specifically for KVHA’s StreamLink Program to provide hands-on and technical assistance to local water quality education endeavors and to help develop the watershed education capacity of 5 communities in Kansas. By the end of the 07/08 school year, current funding from ESEF and KDHE will be fully expended.
Internet Resources:
o http://groups.google.com/group/dragonflycounty has a discussion board, a collaboration wiki for activity planning &/or writing, and a file repository. This is a public group but membership is necessary for posting. o http://www.dragonflycounty.info is a customized google search page with discussion board and news feeds from a variety of environmental sources - mostly local. o An online database has been set up to integrate event coordination with contact information and project tracking. (Zoho.com; see DragonflyCounty.info for links to calendar, event details, and new event form)
o Our pilot site was hosted at google blogger w/ a custom domain o Upgrading to new platform; temporary URL is http://wetlandlearners.wordpress.com. By the end of this week, it can be accessed via www.wetlandlearners.org; we’ll need help with organizing content o Event pictures posted at http://www.flickr.com search “wetland learners”; interactions with the general community, questions, observations, etc…also a recruitment & promotion tool; we could use help sorting out marginal pictures & adding info to the keepers o A collection of webpages linked together by “marks/notes” – also has collaborative potential; http://trailfire.com/streamhopper/trailview/30473
Program development considerations:
>Building the project’s capacity to continue beyond the currently available resources and technical expertise is critical to long-term survivability.
>Cultivating our community volunteer pool is as important as school recruitment. This has to do with program sustainability. Up to this time, primary sources of facilitators include— o Kansas Biological Survey, JAS, KVHA/SL, Internship program, Community at large
>Several partner wetland projects include those focused on Coon Creek above Clinton Lake, the vernal wetland at Hidden Valley, and a stormwater detention area east of Haskell. These projects are viewed as part of WWL project because they extend the reach and breadth of the program without taking away from the field trip component.
>Restoration education concepts are a crucial part of the WWL project’s future in order to move from simply providing a place-based experience to actually helping people develop ongoing relationships with wetlands.
>The field experience needs to be cumulative, with the first ‘overview’ year leading into opportunities for students to explore, assess and contribute to the sustainability of wetlands. >A network of partner organizations is one of the project’s strengths and would ideally be built upon over time by developing new or stronger ties with entities such as— o environmentally-focused organizations and clubs, o universities—especially Haskell Indian Nations University and Baker University, o and programs at the University of Kansas.
>The relationship with Lawrence Public Schools could gradually be expanded to include— o A wide range of resources for teachers and students to use in preparing for trips. The available resources have seldom been requested, but this is likely to change as teachers begin incorporating wetlands fieldtrips into their environmental education curriculums on a regular basis. o Pre- & post-trip instruments could be further developed in conjunction with both the schools’ achievement objectives and those of the project. o A technology component including the WWL website and other online resources will eventually make the project more supportive of students’ learning about nature throughout the school year. o Working with teachers to use technology such as the Classroom Performance System will make it easier for knowledge gained on fieldtrips to be integrated with classroom learning and show that field experience supports local and state science standards. o Science standards adopted for 6th grade are especially relevant to wetlands field experience, however trips could also be developed for other learning objectives at other grade levels, such as helping bridge the gap in life science curriculum that exists during 5th grade, when the focus is entirely on physical science. o Demonstrations, lessons or other types of classroom presentations, could be developed for teachers to request when they need additional information on a life science, especially wetlands related.
>Expanded resources for facilitators could include o Generic activity guidelines for those wanting additional possibilities to use in their preferred area of expertise or to facilitate activities beyond their usual area of expertise. o Specialized nets, viewing containers, microscopes, hand lenses, waterproof charts, etc. could be purchased and added to those at KVHA to use during field activities, so facilitators wouldn’t need to find resources they need but don’t have themselves. Ideas, resources suggested by participants at today’s meeting:
Travis: http://www.octa-trails.org/ Potential funding sources and/or partners —
(Randy Stout knows about Cheyenne Bottom’s project in partnership with Barton County Community College and Fort Hays State College using observation cameras for video conferencing to create virtual fieldtrips – via NOAA? – Kan-Ed is source of equipment and funding for this project?)
Selling/connecting points for some grant proposals: Historical trails in this area; Coon Creek was campground for travelers on historic trail(s)
Software with database of immigrant names is new resource designed by OCTA. (What’s the name? How does one find it? I looked on OCTA website.)
Randy: http://www.kan-ed.org/ Potential funding sources— US Dept. of Education – Teaching American History – national competition – new ways to couple teaching of history with other areas of learning – focus is on professional development for teachers (Travis Boley just won one of these grants using Expeditionary Learning – grant is for Missouri, not Kansas, so WWL could still apply)
Selling/connecting points for grant proposals: Already use approach of incorporating master teachers, pre-service teachers, and integrating across-discipline content - strength to emphasize – also history + environment + cross-disciplines already integrated - doing the trips during school time is a competitive edge
· NSF Grant – “informal ed”- especially in science Can “virtualize activities” – connect with experts other places for info wanted while at wetlands – science of sustainable wetlands – 21st century teaching in-the-field skills - connect people with different needs and skills via video conferencing (while in the location in which they are performing those skills)
· Internet2.edu http://www.internet2.edu/ K-20 initiative – focused on projects that help schools & agencies gain access to resources available in higher ed via “sponsored education groups” (museums, performing arts centers, aquaria, etc.) – potential marketplace for what WWL is developing – Randy would help us connect with this funding source - program officers from NSF could be engaged (re Internet2 or NSF grants?) · Historic Trails funding – curriculum development a funding avenue to explore
Potential partners for USDOE, NSF, Internet2 or Kan-Ed grants -- · KU – Lied, KBS, Environmental Studies, etc. · Haskell · USD497
How much is WWL project’s budgetary goal for next year?
Anthea: http://www.lied.ku.edu/ Potential funding sources and/or partners — · Kansas Arts Commission – for a project right away · National Endowment for the Arts – for project next year · Accessible Arts – Eleanor Craig · Wetlands Preservation Organization – HINU– Dr. Bridget Chapin · HINU’s New President – Dr. Linda Warner · “Pre-service” students
Possible resources at KU--
What publicity avenues can we use? She’ll help us get LJW &/or Channel 6 to an event.
Jeanne: (Currently on sabbatical to write a book.) Involve parents with their children:
Potential resources for involving HINU--
· Jennifer Attochnie Sinquah (former theatre student - Haskell & KU)
Patty: http://www.lawrencerecycles.org/waterquality.shtml Would like to see project expanded to include:
Carey: http://kansas.sierraclub.org/, http://coolcities.us/ Many ideas shared at the wetlands a month ago (e.g. develop a long view by incorporating ways to track participants into future years and assess the impact of this early connection with a wetlands environment). Would you be willing to email to me any ideas you can from our brainstorming session at the pergola?
Resource: Wetlands Preservation Organization at HINU –Raelynn Butler (President)
Stan: http://www.kbs.ku.edu/, http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/ Facilitators are teachers—he (and virtually all) who work with students in the WWL field activities do it because they enjoy teaching kids about things that interest both the teacher and the learner. (Note: This is a crucial reminder that without such teachers, this project could not exist. We need to keep this ‘bottom line’ always in mind as future phases of the project are developed.)
He also added that the Wakarusa wetlands are in the best condition they’ve been in for the past 50 years, when human activity had largely destroyed the natural wetlands ecology of this area. If the SLT is built through them, they will recover. (Note: Wetlands restoration is an important component to include in Wetland Learners because it is achievable but it's also a process that requires a long period of
time--decades in this case-- and the ecosystems must be both allowed and enabled
to recover once damaged.)
Rex: http://skyways.lib.ks.us/orgs/jayhawkaudubon/ JAS’s goal is to get kids to nearest recognizable wetlands. (They have agreed to continue funding buses.)
Ideas for incorporating real-time technology:
Potential partner: Grassland Heritage http://www.grasslandheritage.org/
Ideas to act on right away:
o History – Dan Wildcat o Biology – Bridget Chapin o President – Linda Warner o WPO – Raelynn Butler o Thunderbird Theater – Julie Pearson-Littlethunder (KU Theater Dept)
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