KathiJo Jankowski, VT EPSCoRDeclan McCabe, St. Michael’s College

The VT EPScoR Streams Project: Involving students and the community in water research

What is the Streams Project?

•Collaborative effort by high schools, colleges and community partners around the state to collect water quality data on small streams

Goals of the Project1) Service to the state of Vermont

▫ Collect water quality data on streams of importance to VT ▫ Provide data to UVM modeling group effort to aid VT’s

environmental management2) Workforce Development

▫ Interaction of faculty, undergraduates, high school teachers and students

▫ Practical experience in scientific research▫ Fostering diversity in future workforce

Research Questions

1) How do land use patterns affect the physical condition and water quality of small streams?

2) How does water quality change in response to precipitation events? How might this response vary based on land-use patterns?

Data we collect

•Water Quality: based on EPA volunteer stream monitoring guide http://www.epa.gov/volunteer/stream/index.html

▫Physical: land use, riparian zone, and stream habitat assessment; total suspended solids; precipitation; water temperature; discharge

▫Chemical: Total phosphorus, pH▫Biological: Total coliform/E. coli, benthic

macroinvertebrates

Participants

High Schools (14) collect biological, physical

and chemical data in streams near their schools

UVM (7)* work with high schools

* do laboratory analysis of water samples

* carry out independent project

Baccalaureate College Faculty (3) &

Undergraduates (14)Complementary research projects with community partners or working with

high school data

Baccalaureate Colleges

•St. Michael’s College*•Middlebury College*

•Johnson State College•Sterling College

•Norwich University•Green Mountain College

•Universidad Metropolitana

*Faculty Science Leaders: Drs. Declan McCabe and Sallie Sheldon

Video

Database

•http://www.uvm.edu/~streams/scripts/View_Streams_Data.php

Undergraduate faculty buy in•Compatibility with college missions

▫Faculty scholarship▫Undergraduate research▫Outreach and recruiting ▫Timing!

•Faculty input at design phase▫Project appeals to faculty interests and skill sets

•Ongoing faculty input

Strengths of the program•Undergraduate students as

teachers▫Leadership opportunities▫Service learning

•Flexibility▫Divergent needs meet

diverse interests•Multiple shared data types

▫Different investigators, different parameters, same streams

▫Online data sharing

The macroinvertebrate lab at Saint Michael’s College

• Undergraduates teams sample high school sitesUndergraduates teams sample high school sites

• Samples:Samples:▫PickedPicked▫IDedIDed▫PhotographedPhotographed▫Data uploadedData uploaded

Saint Michael’s College output:

•Galleries specific to school sites

•Photographic ID help

Partnerships and collaborators

• Farley Anne Brown1, Steve Fiske2, Robert B. Genter3, Charles J. Goodnight4, Christina Goodwin5, Alfred W. Hoadley6, KathiJo Jankowski7, Kim Komer5, Declan J. McCabe8, Carlos F.A. Pinkham9, Jim Ryan2, Sallie Sheldon10, Judith Van Houten4,6

• 1Sterling College; 2Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation;

3Johnson State College; 4University of Vermont; 5Lamoille County Natural Resources Conservation District; 6LaPlatte Watershed Partnership; 7Vermont Experimental Program to Stimulate Research; 8Saint Michael's College; 9Norwich University, 10Middlebury College

•Mid Winooski Watershed Partnership

Saint Michael’s College output•Six students each of whom has

▫Written and successfully competed for funds

▫Completed a research project▫Presented that research as a poster or oral presentation

•Two students (so far) who ▫Have signed up for research for credit▫Will present senior theses