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WaterWatch UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO EXTENSION UPDATE
Spring 2014 Volume 4 Issue 2
University of Idaho, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Idaho counties cooperating.
Highlights
Upcoming IDAH2O Workshops
Spring Snapshot
Events and Successes
Contact Information
Jim Ekins
Area Water Educator
208-292-1287
Marie Pengilly
IDAH2O Volunteer Coordinator
208-292-2540
www.uidaho.edu/cda/idah2o
1031 North Academic Way
Suite #242
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 83814
The University of Idaho is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and
educational organization. We offer our programs to persons regardless of race,
color, national origin, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, or disability.
It has been just over one year since I started my new role with UI Extension as
the Water Educator. It has been a challenging and fantastic year. As I look for-
ward to the next, I am happy to announce that our Snapshot Event will occur on
Thursday, June 5th. It is just a little later this year to accommodate Marie’s and
my travel and other work obligations. Normally we would hold the snapshot in
late May, however I will be traveling to present three topics at two different
conferences, and Marie is working hard at her new roles as the Community Wa-
ter Resources Center Coordinator, MILES Community Engagement Coordinator,
and SEEP (Stormwater Erosion Education Program) Coordinator, and of course,
IDAH2O Volunteer Coordinator. These obligations have completely saturated our
schedules through the end of May!
As busy as I am, I continue to think about how fortunate Idaho is to have your
involvement in providing water quality data to the world. You are the driving
force behind creating new knowledge about Idaho’s lesser-known waterways.
The importance of your involvement cannot be overstated; I thank all of you for
your dedication, and encourage everyone to get out there and enjoy the moni-
toring season.
Sincerely,
--Jim Area Water Educator UI Extension, Northern District 208-292-1287 [email protected]
www.facebook.com/idah2o
Workshop Season!
Well, IDAH2O workshop season is officially upon us. Jim has already taught Master Water Steward workshops in Sandpoint and Driggs. We have four more work-shops scheduled.
Workshops with less than 10 participants may be subject to cancellation so help us spread the word! K12 educators have the opportunity to earn Professional De-velopment credit through IDAH1O workshops. Note that the Boise workshop is being taught in coordination with Idaho’s Project WET program. Participants can attend the Project WET workshop on May 29-30, or the IDAH2O workshop on the 31st, as stand-alone events, or attend all three days for maximum impact! If you are interested in hosting a workshop in your area, please contact us at [email protected].
In addition to the scheduled workshops that are open to the public, IDAH2O is providing Master Water Stewards workshops for specific groups. The MILES Ad-venture Learning Workshop in Fernan/Coeur d’Alene has IDAH2O embedded as a part of the class. Same goes with the iSTEM Institute, taught on the North Idaho Campus in Coeur d’Alene.
Jim has two opportunities to present to
a national audience at the 9th Biennial
ANREP (Association of Natural Re-
sources Extension Professionals) Con-
ference, “Golden Opportunities: The
Role of Education and Community En-
gagement in Sustaining Natural Re-
sources”. First is a poster competition,
outlining the Mobile Bug Lab as an edu-
cational opportunity that can be deliv-
ered to any audience anywhere. Sec-
ond is an oral presentation about the
successes of the IDAH2O program, and
about the wonderful volunteer Stew-
ards… YOU… that make it all happen.
The second conference is a Micron
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineer-
ing, and Math) Education conference in
Boise. Jim will co-present with friend
and colleague, Sarah Halsted, STEM
Coordinator for the Lakeland School
District. She and Jim successfully com-
peted for a small pilot program grant to
develop a combination teacher profes-
sional development program, coupled
with an after school science enrichment
program for 3-5th grade students. They
will present on our successes in in-
creasing teachers’ content knowledge
and ability/confidence in using “guided
inquiry” pedagogy, as well as students’
increased knowledge in watershed pro-
cesses and water science principles.
Heading into the 2014 monitoring sea-
son, the pace at IDAH2O world head-
quarters will continue to move along
quickly. Monitoring kit supplies have
been ordered, so please let Jim or Ma-
rie know if you have expired pH or Dis-
solved Oxygen tests, or if you need any
other equipment. The Monitoring Kit
Lending Library is also up and running,
and will have kits for check-out at three
remote locations: Moscow, Boise, and
Driggs. Jim already taught two IDAH2O
Master Water Steward workshops in
Sandpoint and Driggs, and he will be
bringing the workshop to Boise at the
end of May, in cooperation with the
Project WET program and the Boise
WaterShed educational program. In
June, Jim will be teaching IDAH2O to K-
12 teachers through both an iSTEM
Institute at North Idaho College, and
also through the EPSCoR/MILES Adven-
ture Learning program here in the Fer-
nan watershed. And then right after, he
will teach it again in McCall. It will be
the first time that three Master Water
Steward workshops will have been
taught in a week’s time! Finally, Mos-
cow and Coeur d’Alene Workshops are
scheduled for July.
Events and Successes for 2014 story by Jim Ekins
story by Marie Pengilly
2014 IDAH2O Workshops:
Boise May 31*
McCall June 23
Moscow July 19
Coeur d’Alene July 26
Register on our website:
www.uidaho.edu/cda/idah2o
Register for the Spring Snapshot! story by Marie Pengilly
It’s time once again for the IDAH2O spring Snapshot! This is a
great opportunity for Master Water Stewards to compare
nutrient and bacteria levels at their sites over time. Through
these events we gain a better understanding of the health of
the systems we monitor.
The spring Snapshot is scheduled for Thursday, June 5th.
Please keep in mind, this date is subject to change depending
on weather and water levels.
Water samples collected from registered IDAH2O monitoring
sites will be tested for nitrate-N, total phosphorus, total coli-
form bacteria, and E. coli. All samples will be analyzed at the
UI Coeur d’Alene Water Lab and once again, Master Water
Stewards are welcome to assist with sample analysis.
Samples must be collected the day of the Snapshot and re-
turned to the UI Harbor Center by 4 pm. If you need assis-
tance getting your sample to Coeur d’Alene, contact us and
we may be able to arrange a pick-up.
If you are interested in participating, register online at:
www.uidaho.edu/cda/idah2o/specialevents or feel free to
email us with your site numbers. Please register by Tuesday,
May 20th so that sample bottles and instructions can be
mailed out in time.
Spring Snapshot
Thursday, June 5th
$10 per site
In Driggs, a little snow didn’t stop a small but enthusiastic group of Stewards! Our re-
ward? We watched a midge of some sort emerge from its pupae and turn into an adult
before our very eyes, inside the bug viewer.
Sandpoint’s workshop was the earliest in the year so far. The Waterlife Discovery Cen-
ter, right on the shore of Lake Pend Oreille, was the perfect venue with a stream on site.
The Mobile Bug Lab has been in high
demand this Spring with lots of K-12
and Extension/4-H.
Spring 2014 Events and Photos
UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO EXTENSION UPDATE
WaterWatch
On Saturday, May 3rd, IDAH2O teamed up with the Fernan
Lake Conservation and Recreation Association, Coeur
d’Alene Canoe and Kayak Club, MILES, and a record num-
ber of area volunteers to remove 20 bags trash, barbed
wire, plywood, and other debris from Fernan Lake. Call for Unused Kits!
Do you have an IDAH2O monitoring kit collecting dust?
If you find that, for whatever reason, you are unable to
monitor for us at this time, please contact us about
returning your kit. We do have limited funds so we
need to make sure our kits are being used as much as
possible.
Remember! Check your monitoring
kit equipment for expiration dates!
Contact us for replacements.
Figure 2: IDAH2O Water
Monitoring sites have
increased (yellow dots
on left) as compared
with those in 2010 (blue
dots to right). Fine lines
are HUC-12 watershed
boundaries.