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updated
2/4/04 CP & NG
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"The
Watershed Stewardship Fair enhanced our curriculum. Students in small groups were able to work one on one with
professionals in the field of Natural Resources. This expands their knowledge of career opportunities in the
field."
Carol Webb, Aquaculture Teacher at Mineral County’s Vocational Center.
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Thus
began CI's Watershed Stewardship Fairs in the spring of 2002, with the goal of increasing students’ understanding of local watershed conservation issues and
highlighting career opportunities in the field of conservation. Fairs
have been held at Mineral County's Vocational Center, Petersburg High School, East
Hardy Early and Middle Childhood School, Union Educational Center, Hampshire
High and Capon Bridge Middle School - and well over 1000 students have
participated. More than 19 presenters, representing 12 agencies and
organizations, have partnered with us in bringing conservation messages to the
regions students. This is no small thing for these organizations.
Here is what Gretchen Cremann (West Virginia Conservation Agency)
has to say about it:
"The West Virginia Conservation Agency has participated in the
majority of the Cacapon Institute’s Watershed Stewardship Fairs over the
past three years. These fairs have brought conservation professionals together
to share career options with the youth of the Potomac Valley and have been
instrumental in providing an opportunity for our youth to learn the ‘watershed’
approach to conservation. Through trivia games and hands on learning tools,
West Virginia Conservation Agency staff has informed over 1,000 students and
their teachers on the benefits of conserving our natural resources. Reaching
this number of youth would be difficult without Cacapon Institute’s
assistance and foresight."
On
this page:
Watershed
Stewardship Fairs consist of concurrent mini-workshops staffed by local
conservation professionals. The
students rotate from workshop to workshop where they get the low-down on the
presenter's job and then participate in a brief learning activity related to the
watershed conservation work of the presenter's organization.
To enhance the educational value of the activity we researched West Virginia's
instructional goals for the classes and worked to infuse these goals into the
presentations. Each
Fair concludes with a
panel discussion. The panel discussion gives students firsthand experience with this
discussion format and provides students an opportunity to ask
the presenters questions like -- "What do you like about your
job?" -- "What is the biggest fine you've ever given out? and "Is
President Bush doing enough to protect the environment?"
With
concurrent workshops and more presenters than rotations, in many cases the
students had to choose which organization they would be most interested in
learning about. To
keep energy high and positive we ensure that the activities taking
place at each station are as active and interesting as possible—no talk-down
lectures allowed! We also gave students an opportunity to help with the event's organization,
to increase student buy-in and give stand-out students something to sink their
teeth into.
Back to Top.
Each
Fair was different because the schools, classes, age-level, timeframe, and
presenters changed. And what a group
of presenters we have had! Representing
federal, state and county government, academia, industry and non-profits (that
would be CI), the students were exposed to the broad range of environmental
careers available in our region. Click on thumbnail photos to
enlarge.
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Bob
Livingston (Grant County Health Department) worked with students to study
soil type and discuss its effects on site suitability for wastewater
disposal. One plus was that students
got to play with mud. The students also marked out the flood
zone using topo maps. Bob did all four fairs. |
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Gretchen
Cremann (WV Conservation Agency) played a very popular "enviro-jeopardy" game with students to communicate
key soil conservation concepts. Gretchen did all four Fairs, and was
assisted by Carla Hardy (WVSCA) at East Hardy. |
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Becky
Lewis
(WV Conservation Agency) helped students understand principles of
grassland management to protect watershed health. Becky worked with
us at Hampshire High. |
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Dr.
Paula Piehl (Potomac State College) and the students she worked with
discussed her “Watersheds and their Communities” course and biological
assessments of streams, complete with critters and stereoscopes.
Paula did all four fairs. |
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Kieran
O’Malley (Non-game Biologist with the WV Division of Natural Resources)
and participating students confronted environmental planning by laying out
a development along a riparian corridor…only to discover a nesting Bald
Eagle in the thick of things. Kieran
presented at the Mineral County and East Hardy fairs. |
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Donna
Reckert (Allegheny Wood Products) talked about the importance of properly
managed timber harvests to our economy. She emphasized that proper
methods minimize environmental impacts from logging and discussed how this
is done. Donna presented at East Hardy and Hampshire High.. |
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Linda
Carnell (WV Division of Forestry) covered the use of soil conservation
techniques like corduroy roads, use of culverts, and proper road layout,
with the help of topo maps and computerized mapping. Linda presented at
Mineral County. |
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Jim Bowen (WV
Division of Forestry) led a discussion on analyzing timber stands
and on proper forestry techniques to reduce erosion. Jim presented
at East Hardy. |
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Joe Kreger (WV
Division of Forestry) led a discussion on analyzing timber stands
and on proper forestry techniques to reduce erosion. Joe presented at
Hampshire High. |
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Jack
Fleshman (WV Department of Environmental Protection) demonstrated some of
the tools of his trade including a turbidity meter, colormetric pH kit,
and pH paper and discussed the challenges inherent in thoughtful
enforcement of environmental laws. |
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Robin
Dolly and Kevin Lilly (WV Department of Environmental Protection) brought the
need for environmental protection home to the students at Petersburg
High. Just why the laws are there and why they are important to each
of us, with examples ranging from leaking landfills to muddy streams. |
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Ed Kesecker (USDA-Natural Resources Conservation
Service) engaged the students at East Hardy with his wealth of knowledge
on manageing the land to protect water resources. |
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Steve Ritz (USDA-Natural Resources Conservation
Service) brought his famous stream table to Hampshire High for a first
hand look at how the forces of erosion can be reduced by proper land
management. |
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Vicki Fenwick (Canaan Valley Institute) gave students
a hands-on experience looking at watersheds and exploring watershed
management. |
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Jennifer Newland (Canaan Valley Institute) took
students on a botany field trip - on the school grounds. |
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David Warner (Forester) explored the world of the
consulting forester. |
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Bert Sherrill (Lightstone) demonstrated sustainable
agriculture using Shitake mushroom farms. |
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Peter Maille (Cacapon Institute) brought the lessons
from Cacapon Institute's Keep Well project
to new audiences at Petersburg, East Hardy and Hampshire High
School. |
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Neil Gillies (Cacapon Institute), in a departure from
his usual water quality focus, instead explored the relationship between
land use and water quantity with students at East Hardy and
Hampshire High. |
Back to Top.
The Results
We
collected anecdotal information, teacher comments, and conducted a pre- and
post-assessment of the students to determine the effectiveness and impact of the
Watershed Stewardship Fairs.
Our
student assessments looked for increases in the understanding of the watershed
and stewardship concepts. We also
measured changes in opinion/attitude with respect to
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the
conservation field as a potential source of future employment.
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the
personal relevance of watershed conservation issues.
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The
degree to which students consider themselves well informed on conservation
issues.
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the most
important conservation issue facing this area.
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Highlights
from the 2002 impact assessments include 27% of the students claiming that they were
"very much" interested in the conservation field as
a potential source of future employment, up from 18% before the WSFs.
Similarly,
after the WSFs, 81% of the participants claimed that “watershed conservation
issues affect me personally”, up from 59% before the Fairs.
More dramatically, the number saying they were "very much affected"
by watershed conservation issues more than doubled (from 20% to 44%), while the
number saying they "never considered it before/don't know" dropped
from 31% before to a low 9% after the Fair.
While
it is still too early to say what the long-term impact of the program will be,
teachers and presenters are unanimous in their support, claiming that the WSFs
helped them meet classroom and organization goals, and that students received
positive exposure to desirable careers, careers that might encourage them to
continue their education.
Back
to Top.
Back
to Top.
This
program would not have been possible without the help of numerous partner
organizations and the enthusiastic participation of the
schools.
The
Watershed Stewardship Fairs have been supported by the US Environmental Protection
Agency's Environmental Education
Grant program, The MARPAT Foundation, the members of Cacapon Institute, and each
of the partner organizations - all of which donated the time for their employees
to prepare and participate. Back
to Top.
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