News and Highlights

How do we engage middle school students in science? It’s easy, DO science with them! We all know that science is not a collection of facts in a textbook, it is a process of discovery. iUTAH WaterGirls was developed as a collaboration between Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake City School District, and iUTAH to get middle school girls out into nature exploring their local outdoor environment and learning for themselves about water in Utah’s canyons.

Studies show that the middle school years are a critical time when female students begin to lose interest in a STEM career. An affective method to retain female students’ interest in science and desire for a career in STEM is laboratory and field experiences. Exposure to field research helps students experience the true nature of science and research, while nurturing a sense of curiosity about the world around them.

During WaterGirls, students visited field sites in Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons to assess the health of streams and watersheds near their homes. On each field day students were tasked with collecting water quality data, including pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, and dissolved oxygen. They also collected and identified macro-invertebrates found living in the streams. Weather observations were completed, using hand-held instruments to record temperature, wind, and humidity, as well as cloud and precipitation data. Students discussed and analyzed their data to determine how these values change at different sites and in different canyons, what the data tells them, and what that data tells them about health of these streams and watersheds. Scientists, including hydrologists, ecologists, meteorologists, biologists, geologists, and chemists, led the students in their sampling and acted as mentors. Volunteers from Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake City School District, University of Utah, and the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, all taught the students and shared their expertise.

Following the field experience, students attended a wrap-up and reflection session to communicate their findings to audiences of their choosing. This could include their fellow students, their families, the general community, or others. The goal of this step was to help students improve communication skills and demonstrate their interest in science to others. By communicating the impact of water systems, students begin to create ownership of both their environment and their interest in STEM fields.

Grant Holyoak is an undergraduate student double majoring in Sociology and Economics at Utah State University. Grant helped supervise and administer an iUTAH-funded sociological survey in 2014 with Drs. Douglas Jackson-Smith and Courtney Flint that asked Utah residents about their water-use behaviors. He has since analyzed the responses with the following research questions: “How are Utahns’ climate change beliefs associated with: concern about climate change impacts, self-reported water use behaviors, and support for water conservation policies?” Holyoak’s findings related to these questions were accepted for presentation at the 19th Annual “Posters on the Hill” undergraduate research conference in Washington, DC on April 22-23, 2015. 

During the event, participants went on a guided tour around the National Archives followed by a meeting and Q&A with professional researchers working for the Obama Administration. On day two of the event, Grant had arranged meetings with staffers from the offices of Utah Senators Hatch and Lee and Utah Representative Rob Bishop to talk about his research, iUTAH, and the undergraduate research program at Utah State University. Grant said, “These meetings were the best part of the conference for me as I had the chance to advocate for causes and people that have shaped my life and my career.”

After the meetings, presenters set up their posters and were able to share their findings with a wide range of academics and politicians. Grant’s poster, entitled “The Influence of Climate Change Beliefs on Water Use and Conservation Policy in Utah”, sparked lively discussion that lasted the entire evening. “It was certainly one of the most engaging conferences I have ever attended,” remarked Holyoak. 

The Spring Runoff Conference that is held annually at Utah State University offered an interdisciplinary forum for iUTAH graduate students and their advisors to share their research alongside other researchers who are concerned about water-related issues in Utah. During the poster session there were 10 iUTAH-related presentations.

The Utah State Student Research Symposium also offered students the chance to share their research. During the USU Research Week, iUTAH undergraduate research and PhD research was presented both orally and during the poster session.

Andrea Armstrong has been a graduate research assistant with iUTAH since the Fall of 2012, and will complete her doctorate in Sociology at Utah State University this summer. Her dissertation research examines how local water organizations, such as irrigation groups and municipalities, manage water resources in northern Utah. As a researcher with iUTAH, she partnered with the Utah Stormwater Advisory Committee to conduct a statewide survey of stormwater managers and conducted over fifty interviews of local water managers. In the fall of 2015, Andrea is taking the position of Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. There, she will continue to work with undergraduate students on research surrounding water and land use policy. 

March 14 marked the day of iUTAH’s spring Taking Learning Outdoors Workshop at the Ogden Nature Center.  Teachers investigated and measured water quality from various water bodies around the property, honed their bird watching skills, discovered the problems of invasive plant species, and even tried their hand at removing these plants. The Cache Valley teachers, who have been participating in outdoor field workshops and classroom visits with the Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU) educators since September, had the opportunity to learn from iUTAH and Nature Center experts about ecological processes in northern Utah. They also learned how water impacts everything from biological diversity to bird migration.

The Spring T.L.O. Workshop is the last interaction teachers have with NHMU educators and iUTAH scientists before the final symposium May 21 at Utah State University.  At this symposium, teachers will share what they discovered throughout their yearlong program participation and highlight their experiences engaging their students in outdoor learning while using the natural world as a classroom.  

The Utah Division of Water Quality is asking for your input about the water quality issues affecting Utah's streams, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. This survey includes 14 brief questions that should take less than 15 minutes to complete depending on how much feedback you wish to provide. The survey is located at:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RLMF7SP

Your input is extremely valuable and will be used to help guide State policy to ensure current and future generations enjoy the same or better water quality in Utah. The survey will remain open until May 31st but I encourage you to take it at your earliest convenience.

If you have questions please contact Carl Adams at carladams@utah.gov or Calah Seese at (801) 536-4376, cseese@utah.gov.