PAN has partnered with The Mountain Institute (TMI) and local schools to help sponsor The West Virginia Stream Samplers program (see article in last issue for more detail). This TMI Appalachia Program, strives to raise awareness about the interconnections between WV’s uplands and downstream environments leading to a greater understanding of the impact of human activity on watershed health, both locally and regionally.

This program provides students and teachers living in the watersheds of West Virginia with an opportunity to engage in hands-on, inquiry-based, outdoor environmental science as part of an academic program Participants will learn the basic principles of water quality and watershed assessment by taking scientific measurements, making observations, documenting results, and drawing conclusions.

This is a PAN activity supporting environmental learning and experiences for our community’s youth. We are happy to report that Stream Samplers is off and running.

Teachers from West Virginia watersheds met for a 3-day professional development workshop at TMI’s Spruce Knob Mountain Center to learn stream and watershed assessment skills. Tim Craddock of the WV-DEP’s Save Our Streams program instructed teachers in using Save Our Streams sampling protocol.

An in-school preparatory session with TMI staff followed and the Stream Samplers team of teachers Hilarie Jones and Mara Petretich and 4 OHHS students, 1 Fayetteville Middle Schooler, and 12 STs Peter & Paul students (ages 10-16) with 6 parents/chaperones and the stellar bus driver Nancy from Fayette County have just returned from a 2-day immersion in outdoor watershed study at TMI’s base camp.

Though it was quite chilly the troops rallied with the TMI staff, lead by Kevin to learning massive amounts about natural resources, ecology, and their fragility revealing the value for protection and reclamation.

The group collected and analyzed water samples, chemical, biological and physical, from Narrow Ridge Creek.  All camped out in yurt structures.
A team planting willow cuttings from one creek to another to deter cattle from damaging the creek habit and stream health.
 
The “pinnacle” of the trip was lunch and a hike to the top of Spruce Knob for a lesson in geology and to see the two significant watersheds, the Allegheny and the Potomac, one on each side of the peak.

Across the board all participants, young and old sing “awesome” praise of the venture! So what's next? Well we’re not done with this program yet.

On November 18th the team will convene for a “placed-based” sampling event in a local New River tributary to explore what’s happenin' in our backyard?
We’ll have a follow up in our next newsletter.