Wetland Connections: Linking University researchers and high school teachers to advance science education and wetland conservation

Journal of Geoscience Education, Sep 2003 by Calhoun, Aram J K, McGarry, Mary Ann, Reeve, Andrew

ABSTRACT

Wetland Connections is a geosciences and biology field-based project connecting students to real-world problem solving. The broad goal was to link University faculty and students with nigh school teachers and students to conduct field research on Maine's wooded wetlands. Three university faculty, each from a different discipline, shared skills with teachers from three high schools as they investigated shrub and graminoid peatlands, mineral-soil forested wetlands, and vernal pools. Building the infrastructure for a long-term, wetland monitoring program required an integrated systems approach. Students collected environmental data to determine how wetland hydrology and water chemistry related to vegetation composition and structure, wildlife habitat, and geochemical gradients. Data were collected on nine wetlands with 178 students, teachers, community members, and University faculty and students directly participating. Data and information on each of the wetland types is being assembled on an interactive web site. Teachers reported the project helped them meet educational standards, inspired students to pursue further studies in the sciences, and provided baseline data on local, previously unstudied wetlands.

Keywords: Education-geoscience, Education-precollege, Science, Hydrogeology and hydrology, Field trips, Field study, and Summer field courses.

INTRODUCTION

Adolescents, one of our Nation's most vital resources, are often undervalued. Many teens perceive themselves as cultural castaways: they do not have enough opportunities for building self-esteem as integral members of society. Educators' recognition of this has led to an appreciation of the value of hands-on learning and community involvement, known as "service learning," for engaging our youth. Service learning, recognized in some schools as part of the high school curriculum, promises to provide a social niche for our youth and reengage them as valuable sources of ideas and energy for our society (Brown, 1998). Wetland Connections, an interdisciplinary geosciences and biology project, is an example of an experientially based learning environment connecting students to real-world problem solving. In additional to using the service learning paradigm for enhancing education, the project contributed to wetland science. The project supported three field seasons (1998-2000) to build the infrastructure for a long-term wetland monitoring program that can serve as a model for other schools, while providing long-term data on three wetland ecosystems: shrub and graminoid peatlands, mineral-soil forested wetlands, and vernal pools. Students systematically collected data on wetland hydrology and water chemistry in an effort to relate these driving forces to biological attributes including vegetation composition and structure and wildlife habitat, geochemical gradients, and geomorphology of wetlands.

The broad goal of Wetland Connections was to create a mutually beneficial situation for students, teachers, and researchers by expanding the learning environment to an outdoor classroom, by sharing interest and skills of university faculty and students with secondary public school faculty and students, and by encouraging an interdisciplinary approach to science education. Engaging students in local ecological studies relevant to current research interests, or policy and management concerns, ignites student interest, fosters a feeling of community, and reinforces a sense of connection to one's environment (known as place-based education). In the Wetland Connections project, the operative word was connections.

University of Maine (UMaine) connections included three faculty from the Departments of Education and Human Development, Geological Sciences, and Plant, Soil, and Environmental Sciences. University graduate and undergraduate students, community members, and other high school faculty and staff also were part of Wetland Connections. In total, 178 people were directly involved with this project (Table 1).

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a monitoring methodology for creating baseline data for different wetland ecosystems. We also describe the pedagogical benefits of training students for environmental research. We provide a profile of personnel and student involvement (including a survey of participant perceptions), and review the scientific and educational benefits of Wetland Connections. The lessons learned can inform other science, environmental, and educational partnerships.

BACKGROUND

Since Maine has traditionally had a strong resource-based economy, many students are naturally attracted to environmental issues. Although Maine graduates a high percentage of students from high school, a relatively small percentage pursue higher education, particularly in the sciences. This environmental monitoring project offers students the opportunity to participate in field research for the benefit of informing policy on the conservation of traditionally undervalued resources.