The
overall goal of this project is to increase the public's awareness of the
Saginaw Bay Watershed, and how decisions each person makes in their everyday
lives effect the water quality they ultimately depend upon. It addresses one
of the high priorities environmental issues: Watershed Conservation
awareness. The Saginaw Bay Watershed has been a priority area for many
environmental investigations over the past few years. Saginaw Bay Watershed
problems and issues include: toxic sediments, exotic species introduction,
and excess nutrient run-off, fish and wildlife contamination, soil erosion
and stream-bed siltation,
wetland destruction and degradation, non-print source pollution, and ground
water contamination. These issues and concerns affect everybody and every
living thing wherever they live in the Saginaw Bay Watershed. The project
targets K-6 schools and their teachers, and addresses these priority issues
by: he overall goal of this
project is to increase the public's awareness of the Saginaw Bay Watershed,
and how decisions each person makes in their everyday lives effect the water
quality they ultimately depend upon. It addresses one of the high priorities
environmental issues: Watershed Conservation awareness. The Saginaw Bay
Watershed has been a priority area for many environmental investigations
over the past few years. Saginaw Bay Watershed problems and issues include:
toxic sediments, exotic species introduction, and excess nutrient run-off,
fish and wildlife contamination, soil erosion and stream-bed siltation,
wetland destruction and degradation, non-print source pollution, and ground
water contamination. These issues and concerns affect everybody and every
living thing wherever they live in the Saginaw Bay Watershed. The project
targets K-6 schools and their teachers, and addresses these priority issues
by:
-
Improving the environmental education teaching skills of teachers in the Saginaw Bay Watershed.
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Providing a unique, hands-on, activity-based watershed learning opportunity for teachers and students in the Saginaw Bay Watershed.
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Increasing the awareness of the general public to these Watershed issues and thereby their ability to make wise conservation-based decisions concerning our natural resources.
In an effort to expand interest in Watershed Conservation and volunteer throughout the Saginaw Bay Watershed, we would be coordinating with WETNET, a school river monitoring program. This effort focuses on water chemistry sampling and analysis with results being coordinated and reported on the Internet. Currently 42 public and private schools are involved. A coordinated approach of these two efforts would provide students with experience to both water chemistry and macro-invertebrate sampling techniques.