WEST (WATER, THE ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND TEACHING): LINKING SCIENTISTS, TEACHERS, AND STUDENTS THROUGH WATERSHED EDUCATION

Project WEST (Water, the Environment, Science and Teaching) is a National Science Foundation GK-12 fellowship program at the University of Utah that promotes inquiry based science teaching methods. WEST works with elementary and middle schools along the Wasatch Front urban region of Utah. This location is a remarkable place to study water and its impact on biological systems due to extraordinary gradients in precipitation, temperature, elevation, and ecological communities between the Wasatch Mountains, where the hydrologic system originates, and the regional terminus at Great Salt Lake. WEST has leveraged this unique setting to develop several place-based projects that communicate the role of water in the environment to students and teachers.

WEST fellows developed field trips that involve students in planning, collecting, and analyzing data to study the nature of headwaters in the Wasatch Front watershed. Students measure temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and nitrate content of water where discharge from a mine tunnel enters a stream. Students also collect macroinvertebrates from the riverbed to determine how ecosystems differ as a function of ambient water chemistries. Additional experiments are carried out downstream along the Jordan River, where several WEST schools are located. Field trips to the wetlands near Great Salt Lake give students the opportunity to see the terminus of the water cycle and consider the impacts of human activities on water quality and wildlife. These field studies incorporate core curriculum concepts and are followed up with activities in the classroom.

This year, scientists from the USGS and the University of Utah will be working with WEST on a Great Salt Lake water quality study. Scientists will guide students through water sampling and analysis, fellows will help develop background concepts for teachers and students, and teachers will place the experiments in context of core curriculum standards. This study will link to the sampling activities in the upper part of the watershed in order to develop a complete picture of watershed dynamics along the Wasatch Front. By gaining an enhanced understanding of the role of water in Utah habitats, students will simultaneously contemplate their place in nature and increase their awareness of key environmental issues.