April and May were very eventful months for my fellowship. In April, I hosted an educational program for a class of young prospective STEM students at William James Middle School. I created a water trivia quiz for the students and they all exceeded my expectations. A lot of students were interested in getting themselves and their families signed up for volunteering which was great to hear.
I also got the chance to volunteer for the Canoochee Paddle Race. This is an event Ogeechee Riverkeeper has brought back to Evans County, Georgia. The race was successful, despite the low water levels in some areas. The feedback from the event was positive. ORK is already working on next year and hopes to see the number of participants grow. Congratulations again to all the winners!
A third event I assisted in was the career day at Nevils Elementary School. I spoke about different projects ORK works on, as well as my own research and university studies. The children we met were so attentive and considerate. They all made sure to correct each other on littering and hold each other accountable. The students were also very curious and asked a lot of great questions. I even had a student give me a hug and tell me, “Thank you.” Another student told his teacher he wanted to be a riverkeeper when he grows up.
I have also been continually participating in the Don’t Litter Lotts cleanups in Statesboro, Georgia. This project has been increased to cleanups twice a month because the amount of litter in the creek has unfortunately also increased. As the summer months come, we will need some more volunteers as many students head home for the summer or are busy with jobs. Check out the cleanups and sign up!
Fort Stewart Army Base is home to the only remaining documented colony of frosted flatwoods salamandersin Georgia; The only other two groupings of the black-bodied amphibians with mottled bands of silvery white anywhere else on Earth are in Florida, although they once inhabited thousands of wetlands along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. (gpb.org, March 6, 2021)
Research everything you can find on the frosted flatwoods salamander (Ambystoma cingulatum). What does it look like? Use specific adjectives to describe it so that you can identify it if you’re lucky enough to see it in the wild.
What kind of habitat does it need? Does it live near you? What does it eat? What are its life stages?
Vocabulary: Define these terms while doing your research:
Amphibian
Reptile
Cutaneous Respiration
Ectothermic
Endangered Status
Threatened Status
Deforestation
Once you have enough information, go into your backyard or neighborhood and see if the conditions are right for the frosted flatwoods salamander.
This species is unique in Georgia to the Ogeechee River basin and listed as federally threatened conservation status. Why is it threatened? What can we do to protect it?
Submit your ideas and ORK will share with the biologists at Fort Stewart.
Activity is open to all ages and meets the needs or can be combined with other activities for the following Georgia Standards of Excellence: Science
S3L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the similarities and differences between plants, animals, and habitats found within geographic regions (Blue Ridge Mountains, Piedmont, Coastal Plains, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau) of Georgia.
S3L2. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the effects of pollution (air, land, and water) and humans on the environment.
S4L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
S4E3. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to demonstrate the water cycle.
S5L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to group organisms using scientific classification procedures.
S6E3. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to recognize the significant role of water in Earth processes.
S7L4. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to examine the interdependence of organisms with one another and their environments.
WET Educator Workshops are for all K-12 educators in formal or non-formal settings who are interested in using the Project WET water education curriculum with their students.
This activity will show you how to use the scientific method to filter water. *DO NOT drink any of the water in this experiment.*
Before you start this activity, come up with a statement of purpose and hypothesis.
Why is water filtration important?
What materials do you think will filter water the best?
Supplies needed: Different size funnels, coffee filters or cheese cloth, sand, clean rocks, empty bottles, water with a little mud or dirt added.
Set up your station with 3 cups/empty containers.
Put a coffee filter inside of a funnel (try out which size works best) over each cup/empty container.
Add sand to one, clean rocks to another and leave the last one empty.
Try to filter the dirty water through each and discuss your findings.
Which one works the best? Did it match your hypothesis? Do you think plants would help filter it even more? What is the water cycle and which part of it is filtration related to?
Vocabulary:
Riparian Buffer – an area next to a waterway that has natural plant growth. Hypothesis – an educated guess followed by a scientific experiment to test it out. Water Cycle – describes how the water on Earth is always changing forms (solid, liquid, gas) and moving between Earth’s layers.
Activity is open to all ages and meets the needs or can be combined with other activities for the following Georgia Standards of Excellence: Science. Activity can also be used in conjunction with Georgia Project WET activities.
S3L2. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the effects of pollution (air, land, and water) and humans on the environment.
S4E3. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to demonstrate the water cycle.
S6E3. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to recognize the significant role of water in Earth processes.
WET Educator Workshops are for all K-12 educators in formal or non-formal settings who are interested in using the Project WET water education curriculum with their students.
