Education and Outreach News

In December, iUTAH partner Utah Water Watch (UWW) said farewell to their longtime program coordinator, Brian Greene. With his departure, UWW is reorganizing their operations in a way that will increase their capacity to raise public awareness of Utah’s water resources.

UWW has added two new staff members to their water quality education and data collection program. Ellen Bailey and Eli Robinson will be co-coordinating UWW, Stream Side Science (SSS), and other outreach programs. Ellen has been working as program coordinator for Utah State University (USU) Water Quality Extension since June 2015. Eli joined the program this year as an AmeriCorps volunteer.  They both enjoy working with the public, and are passionate about water and the environment. 

Before coming to USU, Ellen worked as an environmental scientist in Florida, monitoring water quality and assisting with wetland and spring restoration projects.  Eli, a recent graduate of Whitman College in Washington, has experience working with fisheries and water quality in the Intermountain West.

With their guidance, UWW will continue to train citizen scientists in water quality monitoring. They will expand the network of advanced monitoring (Tier 2) volunteers across the state. These volunteers work one-on-one with scientists or watershed coordinators to collect specific data used in assessment of restoration efforts.

This fits with USU Professor and Extension Water Quality Specialist, Nancy Mesner’s findings. “People are learning as they collect this data, about their own water bodies, water bodies that they may have lived next to for years,” she said.

Ellen and Eli will also be working to merge of common elements of the Stream Side Science youth education program with UWW, encouraging more students, teachers, and clubs to participate in local water quality monitoring.  Along with these improvements, Ellen will be based in Salt Lake City, out of the Utah Division of Water Quality office, while Eli will be in Logan. This arrangement will allow greater coverage along the Wasatch front.

“What we find is that they [volunteers] feel more positive about water bodies as they understand how they change over time,” said Mesner. “Sometimes people see a water body get turbid and they think it is polluted, and it is just that the flows are up. They learn to understand seasonal changes, and that they have cleaner water than they thought. What we find is that this is an entryway to more stewardship, and more sensible ownership.”

 

Ellen Bailey and Eli Robinson co-coordinate UWW, Stream Side Science, and other outreach programs
Photo credit: Ellen Bailey and Eli Robinson

The Utah Department of Environmental Quality invited Salt Lake Community College and iUTAH researcher Maura Hahnenberger to be a guest blogger on their website, and thoughts on issues that impact our environment.  

“WaterGirls came about from a desire to provide similar experiences to girls at that same critical time in their development. While doing science experiments in a classroom is a great learning experience, it does not give you the emotional experience of participating in science out in the field, where you personally interact with your environment and understand how it works.”

Read More...

WaterGirls field experience program in action

Jennifer Pemberton, and iUTAH partner Utah Public Radio featured in Water Online.

Water and wastewater professionals don’t always get much credit for the pivotal role they play in keeping society running.  Just ask Jennifer Pemberton, a reporter who’s helping raise awareness about the water sector through her radio show “The Source.”

The article features the recent episode “Giving Thanks on Brown Friday” from “The Source.”

Read Original Article

Image credit: "Seattle Municipal Archives," Worker at Boundary Dam, circa 1970 © 1970, used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic license

iUTAH collaborated with other EPSCoR jurisdictions this fall at two national conferences; the 2015 Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) annual conference, and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) National Conference.

This year’s SACNAS conference took place at the National Harbor just outside of Washington, DC, from October 29-31, 2015, and hosted more than 3,200 students and professionals. EOD Coordinator Ellen Eiriksson joined EPSCoR colleagues from Delaware, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Wyoming to staff an information table. In addition to sharing EPSCoR opportunities with attendees, 13 collaborating students were given the chance to network more closely with EPSCoR students from other participating jurisdictions at the conference. 

iUTAH also had representation at the AISES National Conference, held November 19-21 in Phoenix, Arizona.  With 1,800 participants each year, the conference attracts high school and college students, educators, professionals, tribal nations and tribal enterprises, universities, corporations, and government agencies. EPSCoR colleagues from New Mexico and Alabama gave out information on iUTAH programs and opportunities at a shared EPSCoR Booth.

Collaborations at both SACNAS and AISES are excellent examples of collective outreach and recruitment efforts. These efforts increase visibility while reaching a more diverse audience within EPSCoR. EOD Coordinator Ellen Eiriksson said that she hopes “experiences like these prepare and empower students attending conferences,” adding that “this was a first experience at a national conference for many of the students in attendance.” 

Over these first two years, collaborations have increased from five to 15 states participating. iUTAH EOD looks forward to continuing student recruitment partnerships like these at future conferences. 

The 9^th Annual Salt Lake County Watershed Symposium took place on November 18 - 19, in West Valley City, UT. This year’s conference included water quality experts, policy makers, environmental advocates, industry, academics, students, and the general public. Speakers and sessions covered a broad range of topics -- from general interest to technical -- with local, regional, and national relevance.

Besides having an informational table, iUTAH was well represented with collaborators from the University of Utah, Salt Lake Community College, and Utah State University all leading sessions.

Awards presented at the close of the conference, were based on voting by symposium attendees. Brian Greene and Maura Hahnenberger won the "Tony Award" for the most engaging presentation with their talk entitled "Don't Drink The Water? Testing Water Quality for Science and Outreach."

Other iUTAH winners included Gabe Bowen, Samantha Weintraub, and Yusef Jameel also won the “Sulu Award" for Best Science for their group presentation of "Water and Nutrients in The Urban Center and Surrounding Wildlands.”

This year's symposium had the largest attendance the event has seen to-date, with 35% of registrants being first-time attendees.

 Maura Hahnenberger and Brian Greene