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WaterWatch UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO EXTENSION UPDATE
Summer/Fall 2014 Volume 4 Issue 3/4
University of Idaho, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Idaho counties cooperating.
Highlights
Workshop Recap
Getting Students into Streams
IDAH2O Staff Updates
Adventure Learning@ Fernan
Contact Information
Jim Ekins
Area Water Educator
208-292-1287
Marie Pengilly
IDAH2O Volunteer Coordinator
208-292-2540
www.uidaho.edu/cda/idah2o
1031 North Academic Way
Suite #242
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 83814
The University of Idaho is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and
educational organization. We offer our programs to persons regardless of race,
color, national origin, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, or disability.
www.facebook.com/idah2o
Ah, I must finally admit that summer has gone, but we are still busy with research projects
and education programs. I am constantly impressed with your volunteer efforts, and am
thankful for each of your contribution. Each month, we are adding more valuable data to
the online database, and are providing a strong service to our communities and to
scientists around the world. With all this activity that spans summer and into fall, I thought
I should try combining the summer and fall WaterWatch newsletter this year to give a
more complete picture.
We had eight IDAH2O workshops this summer, with a total of about 70 new certified
Stewards. 22 K‐12 teachers certified through two specific advanced professional
development workshops: “Adventure Learning @” and iSTEM Summer Institute at NIC.
Additional K‐12 teachers have been certified through regular workshops, too!
Between workshops, IDAH2O led educational programs for K‐12 students and summer
science camps across north Idaho. These include the Back to the Earth camp, Upward
Bound students at Heyburn State Park; Boy Scout Camp Stidwell; Clearwater County
Extension 6th Grade Forestry Tour; statewide 4‐H Teen Conference at the University of
Idaho Moscow campus; and 4‐ H Camp Wooten. I was the keynote speaker for the McCall
Water Quality Summit; and I will continue working with the regional Boy Scouts supervise
Eagle Scout and similar projects.
Late summer and fall were equally busy ongoing research that includes looking into the
usefulness of hardware store‐style soil test kits, v. the Extension soil test for homeowners
to reduce fertilizer use and runoff, riparian garden demonstration, and stormwater
bioswale effectiveness in cleaning stormwater runoff, in cooperation with area water
quality related agencies. Planning for a stormwater informational self-guided tour around
Coeur d’Alene is also in the works (but still a ways off). Many more kids programs in the
classroom and out of the classroom for 4th graders, middle school and high school
students kept the IDAH2O staff on our feet and running fast!
Happy monitoring!
Jim
Special Edition!
2015 IDAH2O Workshops:
Sandpoint: Saturday, May 2
Driggs, Saturday, May 9
Boise: TBA
McCall: Saturday, June 13
Moscow: Saturday, July 18
Coeur d’Alene : Sat., July 25
Your Group: any time!
Register on our website:
www.uidaho.edu/cda/
Sandpoint, April: IDAH2O started the workshop series early this year. The Waterlife
Discovery Center, and Idaho Master Naturalist volunteers, were gracious hosts. The
example monitoring site was right on the property, making logistics easy for the group
of six new Stewards, including educators from the Selkirk Outdoor Leadership and
Education program.
Driggs, May: Snow didn’t stop this group of six new Stewards from learning the
IDAH2O protocol. Friends of the Teton River sponsored this program and helped to
recruit several area volunteers, including K-12 teachers, and provided a conference
room. FTR also brought us to a lovely monitoring site, used in their 4th grade science
education programs.
Boise, May: In partnership with the Idaho Project WET program, and the Boise
WaterShed, 16 new Stewards (including at least 8 K-12 teachers) learned the IDAH2O
ropes.
Coeur d’Alene, INBRE, June: For the second year, Idaho INBRE students, through
North Idaho College, became Stewards. Four students continued using IDAH2O
protocol in their undergraduate research; two in stormwater and two in floating
wetland studies.
Moscow, July: Graduate student-instructors from The Confluence Project learned how
to merge IDAH2O with classroom teaching and field experiences. For a second year, we
used Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute’s outdoor classroom.
Coeur d’Alene Adventure Learning, June: IDAH2O partnered with the U-Idaho College
of Education and McCall Outdoor Science School’s (MOSS) Adventure Learning @
(AL@) program. Designed to link classroom science with field scientists and hands-on
learning, 10 K-12 teachers became Stewards, and then practiced implementing the
science through inquiry-based lesson planning.
Coeur d’Alene iSTEM Institute, June: The same week as the AL@ workshop, IDAH2O
partnered with the statewide iSTEM Summer Institute program to certify 13 additional
Steward-teachers. As with the AL@ program, the water quality monitoring was
coupled with guided inquiry-based pedagogy to help extend the reach to students in
multiple school districts across N Idaho.
Coeur d’Alene, July: IDAH2O partnered with the Community Water Resources Center
at UI-Cd’A to teach six new Stewards.
McCall, August: Partnering with the City of McCall Environmental Advisory
Committee, IDAH2O training occurred in the City’s Legion Hall building, and the field
portion was taught on a beautiful stretch of Lake Fork Creek along the Lick Creek Road.
Coeur d’Alene EDCI 408/Adventure Learning #2: 16 additional pre-service teachers,
enrolled in the Fall semester EDCI (teacher’s ed) 408: Integrated Methods course,
became stewards and learned how to implement it in the classroom with the help of
experienced MOSS graduate instructors.
story by Jim Ekins
Summer/Fall 2014 IDAH2O Workshop Recap
Adventure Learning @ Fernan
In June, a group of ten teachers from the
Coeur d’Alene area met with the
Adventure Learning team at the UI Harbor
Center for a week of exploration, science,
and water stewardship in the Fernan Lake
watershed. This gathering was organized
by a team led by Assistant Professor of
Education Brant Miller through an
outreach grant funded by EPSCoR as part
of the Managing Idaho’s Landscapes for
Ecosystem Services (MILES) project.
The week started with a bang with
participants meeting Dr. Frank Wilhelm; a
limnologist (limnology is the study of
standing, fresh water) with the University
of Idaho. Frank introduced participants to
his research at Fernan Lake where he is
looking at the causes of cyanobacteria or
blue-green algae blooms that plague the
lake during the summer months. With the
help of Fernan Lake water steward and
stakeholder Bill Miller, the group took to
the depths of Fernan Lake to analyze
phosphorus levels, learn about its
connection to cyanobacteria, and to
experience advanced water testing
techniques.
The rest of the week included more
experiential learning for the teachers. This
included an IDAH2O workshop led by the
Harbor Center’s very own Jim Ekins. Laura
Laumatia from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe
and Jamie Brunner from the Idaho
Department of Environmental Quality
provided a presentation detailing the
history of mining on the Coeur d’Alene
watershed, and Dr. Erin Brooks talked to
the group about ecological engineering.
The rest of the week was filled with
teacher-led inquiry projects. Their task
was simple: pick a scientific question,
investigate it, and brainstorm how it can
be applied in each teacher’s classroom.
Participants chose topics ranging from
nitrogen cycling to shoreline trash density
to macroinvertebrate populations at
different stream sites in the Fernan Lake
watershed.
Excitingly, the week’s exploits were all
chronicled via an online blog. The blog can
be found at https://
www.idahoecosystems.org/education/
adventure/summer-2014-blog for those
wanting to know more.
story by Eric Willadsen, Sheralynn Bauder, and Brant Miller
We’ve had a great time with K‐12 water activities this
summer! Here’s just a little sample of all the learning and fun
we’ve had…
Jim and I started the summer off by helping out at the Pend
Oreille Water Festival. The Water Festival is an annual
environmental education program for fifth grade students in
Bonner County, organized by the Bonner County Soil and
Water Conservation District. Over two days in May, we taught
over 400 students all about macroinvertebrates and water
quality! (For more information on the Water Festival, visit
www.bonnerswcd.org/#!pend‐oreille‐water‐festival/c1ln)
In June, we held the second annual Hayden Meadows
Elementary School Water Days. This event is a collaborative
effort between Hayden Meadows teachers, the Coeur d’Alene
Tribe, City of Coeur d’Alene, University of Idaho Extension, and
University of Idaho Coeur d’Alene. Over two days, 120 fourth
graders visited the University of Idaho Harbor Center to learn
all about water. The students rotated through stations
learning about zooplankton and food chains, wastewater
treatment and microorganisms, macroinvertebrates and water
quality, and stormwater pollution. At lunch, guest speakers
from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe entertained the students with
stories of the cultural importance of the lake.
IDAH2O also put on a “Be a Water SUPERHERO” day as part of
the University of Idaho’s STEAM Labs in July. Grade school
students learned all about water through a full day of activities
incorporating science, technology, engineering, art, and math.
We tested water quality in the Spokane River, identified
macroinvertebrates, played a game to demonstrate the water
cycle, and mapped out our local watershed. The students
wrapped up the day by graphing out their water quality data
and presenting their findings to the group. We also brought
the Mobile Bug Lab and several Project WET activities to spend
a wonderful afternoon with Nez Perce Tribe PACE Math and
Science Camp students.
In September, 6th graders from Grangeville spent two days in
the forests near Snowhaven Ski Area, at the Natural Resources
Campout. IDAH2O taught the students the basics of water
science in the classrooms the week before the campout. Then,
the Mobile Bug Lab was deployed for a whole day of learning
about pollution and about clean water. The Hayden Christian
School’s entire combined 5th and 6th grade classroom
traveled to Hayden Creek, a tributary to Hayden Lake, to
perform a near‐complete IDAH2O Habitat and Physical/
Chemical assessment, followed by macroinvertebrate
collecting. And at the end of the month, IDAH2O and the
Community Water Resources Center teamed up to bring the
entire Sandpoint Middle School 7th grade class to the UI
campus in Sandpoint to learn hands‐on about water, weather,
and other science topics. And, Lake City High School students
did a near complete IDAH2O assessment on Blackwell Slough
of the Spokane River. IDAH2O partnered with the Coeur
d’Alene Tribe, the Confluence Project, and St. Marie’s High
School to tour and learn about ecological restoration projects
on Benewah Creek.
We kept rolling into October with High School and 4th grade
students doing field studies of Spirit and Twin Lakes, and
finally, ending the field season by helping the Coeur d’Alene
Tribe at the annual Water Potato Celebration. Almost 50
prospective University of Idaho students learned the basics of
water quality through a program at Ag Days, a learning-based
recruitment event on the Moscow Campus.
Getting Students into Streams story by Marie Pengilly and Jim Ekins
The students at Paradise Creek Regional High School in Moscow recently came
across a series of beaver dams just down stream of their IDAH2O monitoring
site in Paradise Creek! Note: Paradise Creek goes right through the center of Moscow! It is really amazing
how much a little beaver or two can change the watershed and add wetlands. The finding of these dams
have prompted several students to investigate and study how these dams have impacted the stream
chemistry, such as clarity, DO, temperature, nitrates, bacteria and chlorates, but also the benthic
macroinvertebrates. Since Paradise Creek is affected by its urban location, the students are proposing using
water & biotic samples from its headwaters (about 5 miles north of town) as baseline data for the beaver
study.
The Original Civil Engineers: Beavers! story by Matt Pollard, originally published in The Confluence Project blog:
http://wowconfluenceproject.wordpress.com/2014/10/07/the-original-civil-engineers-beavers/#pd_a_8358496
One of the larger beaver dams on Paradise Creek. There is a lot of water being held back there! This photo was taken on 10/3/2014.
Mrs. Rust’s Honors Biology students got their hands dirty today at Fish Creek and Twin Lakes near Rathdrum, ID! The students were split into two groups during the full-day field trip: one helped the Twin Lakes Homeowners Association re-vegetate the stream banks of Fish Creek while the other tested water quality in Twin Lakes and went fishing with Idaho Fish & Game. Then they swapped places so they could experience it all!
Reflection—Post Falls High School at Twin Lakes story by Audrey Squires, originally published in The Confluence Project blog:
http://wowconfluenceproject.wordpress.com/2014/10/09/pfhs-twin-lakes-planting-trees-testing-water-quality-and-catching-fish/
WatershEducation and IDAH2O IDAH2O has been working hard to expand our reach. Through teaching K-12
teachers about water quality monitoring, they in turn increase their capacity
to teach water science to students. We partner with Lakeside School District’s
iSTEM from Excellence, iSTEM Summer Institutes, The Confluence Project,
Adventure Learning @, and school districts throughout N. Idaho. Below are a
few examples of working with K-12 educators and students to protect water
quality and teach kids about water science.
Spirit Lake Elementary School tests the water story by Jim Ekins and Sarah Halsted, iSTEM Coordinator, Lakeland S.D.
About 60 fourth grade students from Spirit Lake Elementary School used their
newfound science skills to do IDAH2O water quality monitoring on Spirit Lake. The
lake is within walking distance from the school, and is important to the entire
community, economically and culturally. Students rotated among six stations,
each providing instruction and an opportunity to complete one IDAH2O monitor‐
ing protocol.
The IDAH2O WatershEducation program welcomes Meagan Hash, AmeriCorps 4-H Youth
Development Natural Resources Facilitation Coach. Meagan joined the IDAH2O staff in early
October. She is one of three AmeriCorps members across Idaho who are tasked to develop and
implement 4-H natural resources education programs in after-school settings and in
cooperation with agencies and organizations.
Many people know about 4-H as high-quality youth science enrichment programs in agricultural
fields such as raising and judging farm animals and growing award winning vegetables. 4-H also
includes lesser-known water–, forestry-, and entomology-related non-formal science curricula.
Meagan and her counterparts, under the leadership of University of Idaho Extension, will
further develop interest in and capacity to teach these natural resources programs. Meagan
and IDAH2O are leading the way in this program development; she is the first filled position in
the state, and plans are already underway to develop an initial program, in cooperation with
the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s after school program, the Extension VISTA 4-H Assistant in Plummer,
ID, and the Plummer-Worley School District. The rest of Idaho will benefit from our exploratory
programs here in the Lake Coeur d’Alene region.
Meagan has only been working with IDAH2O for about three weeks, but she says the experience
has already “opened my eyes to all of the work that the university and small programs do in the
local communities and I am looking forward to being a part of it all."
Meet Meagan Hash, AmeriCorps Natural Resources Facilitation Coach
Throughout the summer, IDAH2O supervised a summer intern, Amanda Abrams.
Amanda was in her final year in the University of Idaho at Coeur d’Alene’s “hybrid”
Environmental Science Bachelor’s Degree program. The internship provided her with
real world experience, networking opportunities, and basic lab skills. The bachelor's in
Environmental Science can be obtained through a cooperative program in which
“students enroll at North Idaho College for their first two years, then complete their
second two years at UI-Coeur d'Alene through a combination of live and online
coursework.” The program made her an ideal intern for IDAH2O.
Amanda worked on two different long-term projects. First was a soil testing research
project to help homeowners manage typical suburban lawns and garden beds.
Homeowners are encouraged to test their soil to make better decisions about fertilizer
use, decreasing excess nutrients getting into lakes and streams. Excess nutrients result in algae blooms and increased unwanted
plant growth. University of Idaho Extension provides high-quality, laboratory-based soils test for approximately $35. Homeowners
can also find less expensive “DIY” test kits at the hardware store. The project was developed to determine which tests are more
useful to the average homeowner. We hope to publish results in the Winter newsletter, and in a refereed journal.
Amanda’s second project was to help the Community Water Resources Center at University of Idaho Coeur d'Alene, with whom
IDAH2O is a partner, to develop a comprehensive list of water-related educational outreach programs. She developed a
spreadsheet, and began the process of publishing it to make it easier for community members to find the water-based educational
programs that suit their needs. Amanda was a fantastic presence in the IDAH2O office. We miss her dearly, but we have been
assured, “… don’t think for a second that I am that easy to get rid of…”. We are looking forward to working with Amanda into the
future.
Meet Amanda Abrams, IDAH2O Intern for UI Environmental Science
story by Jim Ekins
story by Jim Ekins
Amada helping to teach IDAH2O
UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO EXTENSION UPDATE
WaterWatch
Call for Unused Kits!
Do you have an IDAH2O monitoring kit collecting dust?
If you find that, for whatever reason, you are unable to
monitor for us at this time, please contact us about
returning your kit. We do have limited funds so we
need to make sure our kits are being used as much as
possible.
Remember! Check your monitoring
kit equipment for expiration dates!
Contact us for replacements.
Spring and Fall Snapshot results…
We held the IDAH2O fall Snapshot event on October
3rd, and the spring Snapshot on June 5th. Thank you
so much to our Master Water Stewards who
participated! We tested water samples from 23 and
10 sites respectively for nutrients and bacteria
levels. We found generally low levels of nitrite,
phosphorus, total coliform bacteria, and E. coli.
Results can be found on our website at: http://
www.uidaho.edu/cda/idah2o/specialevents.
