THE FUTURE OF UTAH’S WATER LOOKS CLEANER AND BRIGHTER
Utah’s youth learn more about water pollution and how to conserve water thanks to a Utah State University water quality Extension specialist and her team of environmental educators.
Nancy Mesner and Andreé Walker, water quality Extension education coordinator, began working with the State Office of Education over a year ago to develop a watershed education curriculum called Streamside Science. Gov. Olene Walker recently adopted the curriculum as part of her Watershed Initiative, to be distributed to 9th grade earth sciences teachers throughout the state.
As a part of Streamside Science, teachers will have an innovative, hands-on way to teach the core concepts in their earth science classes. Students will benefit from the curriculum by learning water techniques that will help them get involved in their environment.
“Students benefit because fundamental ideas are reinforced through the experience of monitoring and observing natural streams, wetlands and forested areas in their own watersheds, rather than just memorizing these ideas in a classroom setting without any context,” said Mesner.
Aside from the student curricula, Mesner and her team have been striving to make all Utah citizens more aware of the water around them. They have conducted youth outreach programs reaching more 7,000 young people last year, and training more 200 teachers and other interested citizens in programs such as Utah Stream Team, A River Runs Through Us, Lake Watch and Adopt a Waterbody.
“Everyone benefits from these programs, because our citizens, young and old, become more aware of how watersheds work, how our activities in our watersheds can impact the many benefits we get from our natural waters and what types of actions we can take to protect these waters,” said Mesner.
Streamside Science stems from A River Runs Through Us, a program developed by former Utah State graduate students Robes Parrish and John Geiger, as well as many local teachers.
More than 25 teachers from the Bear River, Weber and Jordan River basins, which span Utah, Idaho and Wyoming, have been involved in the A River Runs Through Us program.
In this program, teachers educate their students about the function and structure of a watershed and the natural boundary of a basin, as well as how to teach them the specifics of sampling freshwater systems.
“I think that reaching youths is a critical way of changing long-term behaviors,” said Mesner. “We hope to instill in these students a sense of stewardship over their natural world and an understanding of how their actions can affect the quality of their world.”
For more information about the Streamside Science curriculum, or how to get involved in the Utah Stream Team, A River Runs through Us, Lake Watch and Adopt a Waterbody programs, contact Mesner at (435) 797-2465 or nancym@ext.usu.edu. More information about the programs can also be obtained from the Utah State Extension’s water quality Web site at http://extension.usu.edu/waterquality/.