Browsing by Subject "Taking Stock - Education"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Assessing the Impacts of Field Days for Youth
    (2007) Seidel, Wayne; Liukkonen, Barb; Meyer, Nathan
    This is a 30-slide Powerpoint (pdf format) abbreviated content presentation that assesses the value of and education program with outdoor field days for children. The program is not identified, and a narrative report of this study could not be found. The slides show a variety of activities (forestry station, conservation station, research station, etc.) with small classes rotating between them. There are no accompanying notes, and the PPT slides are in bullet-point format. The authors note that a short survey and focus groups were done with learners and their teachers. The study makes the following conclusions: “Students remembered details and concepts; All participants valued event; Clear evidence of learning and behavior change; Opportunity & willingness to more fully integrate event with classroom work; Regular evaluation will help improve the program” The following implications were listed: Following Best Practices can help improve learning and stewardship; Single-day field day events can have both short- and long-term impacts; Regular evaluation will help improve the program.”
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    Lake Superior Aquatic Invasive Species Complete Prevention Plan
    (2014) Lake Superior Binational Program
    This report summarizes a team effort to identify methods and actions to prevent new exotic species from entering Lake Superior. The plan seems to acknowledge that introduction of AIS is a result of generally unintentional human behavior, and is therefore preventable. Key contents of the report are extracted and reproduced below. Abstract: “Situated at the head of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway system, a 2,342 mile long (3,700 km) water navigation system connected to global trade, Lake Superior is at risk for continued invasion by aquatic invasive species (AIS), including plants, animals, and microscopic organisms. As of April 2010, 89 non-native aquatic species have been found in Lake Superior. These include Eurasian watermilfoil, sea lamprey, and most recently, the fish disease Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS). AIS have caused devastating economic and ecosystem effects that impart significant losses to the region in the form of damage and control costs, degraded water quality, job losses, declining property values, compromised native species, decreased biodiversity, and other negative impacts. “This Lake Superior Aquatic Invasive Species Complete Prevention Plan outlines recommended actions that need to be newly implemented, in addition to existing efforts, to prevent new aquatic invasive species from entering and becoming established in the Lake Superior ecosystem. Through the process of developing this plan, Canadian and U.S. government agencies involved in the Lake Superior Lakewide Action and Management Plan (LAMP) have consulted broadly and have developed recommendations for consideration by each jurisdiction. However, citizens, organizations and government agencies in both Canada and the United States need to work together to implement the recommended actions and ensure that protecting Lake Superior from new invasive species is a top priority for all. The Lake Superior LAMP will utilize an adaptive management approach to monitoring implementation progress and overall effectiveness of this prevention plan. “Key recommended actions for the United States and Canada include: ● Implement compatible, federal regulatory regimes for ballast water discharge that are protective of the Great Lakes for both the U.S. and Canada. ● Support the development, testing and implementation of effective ballast treatment systems that meet the operational characteristics of Great Lakes ships. ● Establish federal screening processes for organisms in trade to classify species into three lists: prohibited, permitted, and conditionally prohibited/permitted. ● Establish an immediate moratorium on the trade of prohibited species. ● Consider the concept of a “Certified Pathogen-Free through Raising from Seed” category for plants sold through garden centers and nurseries. ● Expand or implement education programs to increase consumer awareness of the risk of AIS. ● Require permits for shoreline restoration projects, which identify AIS introduction issues and include best management practices and restrictions that minimize the potential for introducing invasive species. ● Implement education programs to raise awareness of the issue and promote compliance with prevention actions among contractors and residents. ● Ensure that existing laws prohibiting the sale of invasive species are enforced for on-line and mail order purchases of aquatic plants. ● To prevent the illegal transport of bait across the U.S./Canadian border and on shared waters, ensure effective education and prevention efforts at border crossings and at retail bait shops, and conduct monitoring to gauge the effectiveness of such efforts. ● Make AIS prevention education, regulation, and enforcement a priority in all Lake Superior jurisdictions, and implement prevention approaches that target specific audiences (e.g., boaters, anglers, professional fishing guides, plant nurseries). ● Build capacity for education and enforcement efforts within local communities by providing outreach products that can be tailored for local use, and coordinate consistent messaging across jurisdictions. ● Explore options for a broad range of prevention measures at public boat launches. ● Review and adjust policies for the operation of the locks at Sault Ste. Marie to include best management practices that effectively prevent fish from passing through the locks, including closing the upper and lower gates when not in use and the use of in-stream barriers or deterrent technologies, if necessary. ● Investigate options to achieve ecological separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds to protect the Great Lakes from the invasion of Asian carp. ● Until ecological separation is achieved, maintain the electric barriers in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal at optimum conditions and ensure their continued operation. ● Establish structural measures to prevent the inadvertent introduction of Asian carp from floodwaters of the Des Plaines River into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. ● Adapt invasive species management to the challenge of a changing climate – monitor ecosystem changes, coordinate information resources, and engage in further research.”
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    The North Shore Curriculum Assessment Final Report
    (2007) Smerud, Peter
    This document describes the results of a project to assess the needs of teachers and schools regarding coastal resources and environmental education in the Minnesota coastal zone. A survey was carried out on K-12 teachers at 55 schools in the coastal zone, and a series of community meetings was held. Key findings are extracted and reproduced below. “The majority of surveyed teachers stated that they are quite comfortable teaching environmental education lessons in their classroom, resulting in one of the higher rankings (4.20) given in any area of the survey. This is supported by the fact that 77% of the teachers from this survey stated that they teach outdoors and 68% of them are currently using an outdoor school site. These numbers seem to indicate that many schools have an outdoor setting in which to teach. This is supported by the lowest ranking (2.83) for environmental education resource needs of obtaining an outdoor school site. The teachers seemed to indicate that they were knowledgeable in the content areas of environmental education with the positive rankings in every area (all above 3.0). The teachers in this survey rated that their greatest level of knowledge was among the area of outdoor recreation. This area is an integral part of our region and many may have gained experiential knowledge that would support this finding. Teachers indicated that they were more knowledgeable (3.70) about general environmental issues (climate change, acid rain, etc.) rather than specific issues relating to the coastal zone, (fisheries, forestry and development). Specific coastal zone issues was rated the lowest (3.02) in this category. The data showed that a moderate number of teachers were unaware of many of the existing environmental education curricula. The data also showed that many teachers were aware of the listed curricula, but did not use them presently in their teaching. Overall, of the teachers that did indicate they used these curricular resources, there was a relatively low rate of usage of these resources, all with rankings below 2.50. Specific coastal resource management issues were ranked as the highest level of need in terms of a specific content area, which seems to correlate with the prior result that showed this area to be ranked as the lowest item in the teachers’ level of knowledge. Other needed content areas that were ranked highest in this category were aquatic ecosystems, birds, current interaction of humans upon natural resources (an area similar to coastal resource management issues), historical interactions of human cultures upon natural resources, earth sciences and wildlife. 93% of surveyed teachers responding that they teach about the environment, it was surprising to note that only 38% of them use the identified published EE curriculum. Instead, many teachers (46%) have developed their own curriculum to teach about the environment. In addition to teaching about the environment, a majority (64%) of the teachers are taking their students on field trips to Environmental Learning Centers or Nature Centers. However, most of these field trip opportunities are happening only once or twice during the school year. The data also revealed that 19.6% of the surveyed teachers are teaching about the environment every week, which seemed to be a high percentage given the number of respondents. The outcomes and knowledge gained from this project are to be used to assess the needs of environmental education curriculum in the coastal zone and subsequently make recommendations for future funding and efforts that best meet the needs of coastal area schools and educators.”