A happy return (6/4-6/15)

First, I want to emphasize what a great privilege it is to be back at Wickiup Hill Nature Center.  Despite the construction and hectic nature of their summer, they’ve invited me back to work with them, and that’s a huge compliment that I do not undervalue.  

I suppose my chief concern at the beginning of this externship was to make sure that my performance and usefulness would be at least equivalent to that of last year’s experience.  Last summer was very successful in terms of the project we completed, and the amount of both method and content knowledge we developed.  Also, last summer was my first opportunity for true professional collaboration as a practicing teacher (or soon to be actively practicing).  It seemed as though there might be the possibility of continuing the research that was started last year on prairie restoration, but through initial conversations with our Wickiup hosts, it became clear that they would like us to focus on watershed and water quality testing this summer.  

I feel fairly comfortable in the content we’re using this summer.  I took several aquatic biology classes, as well as a limnology course in undergrad and enjoyed them immensely.  I look forward to using those skills as we test water quality in different sites in the mid-Cedar watershed.  We hope also to assist the Wickiup naturalists in designing their watershed education programs for students as the summer progresses.

Another concern I have is whether or not we’ll have enough time to complete all of our goals this summer.  I know that I tend to make ambitious estimates of the work I’m capable of in a given amount of time, and I would hate to commit to a certain product, and not deliver for our Wickiup hosts.  I’m doing what I can to manage expectations and set realistic goals for this summer’s work.

We’re addressing these concerns primarily by planning ahead.  We’re finding the places that have yet to be tested for Iowa water quality, and coming up with a game plan to hit all the places that will be relevant to water quality/watershed programs that the Wickiup naturalists are putting together.  The new exhibits in the Wickiup Hill Nature Learning Center will include an exhibit about water quality.  It will target younger kids for the most part, but we think we might be able to add to their exhibit’s appeal for older students by bringing in higher level learning materials and perhaps bona fide Iowater testing opportunities at the Wickiup site. 

We believe that this would be valuable in a number of ways.  First, students would be gathering data just as scientists do, using instruments and indicators to estimate the concentrations of chemicals in the water.  Also, students later on will be able to look at previous data that’s been gathered at Wickiup and try to discover any trends that may be occurring.

I am extremely excited for the upcoming summer externship, and I think that with the help of my two colleagues, we will be very successful in both learning new things, and helping our hosts improve their abilities to educate students.