Students at four elementary schools located along Chester Creek—Airport Heights, College Gate, Chester Valley and Susitna—have been learning about that watershed this year, with field trips for hands-on experiments to determine water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH of the water and details about all the little critters living there—the microinvertebrates—that are breakfast, lunch and dinner for salmon and other fish.
The effort was launched by community partners to promote STEM education, deepen student understanding of their watershed, increase knowledge about their local ecosystem and develop a sense of place in Anchorage. Their final event takes place April 30 at Westchester Lagoon, when more than 200 students will be on hand to share what they’ve learned and connect the watershed to the ocean.
The impetus for the project came from the Anchorage School District STEM department. Supporting agencies include Alaska Geographic, Alaska Sea Grant and the Anchorage Waterways Council.
Join us for background from some of the supporting adults, and to hear the kids—in their own words—describe what they have learned about what’s in their own backyard here in Anchorage.
HOST: Kathleen McCoy
DATES:
- Anchorage Sea Week/Creek Week, 9-11:30 a.m., April 30, 2015, Westchester Lagoon
GUESTS:
- Fred Hougland, education program manager, school partnerships, Alaska Geographic
- Joe Winter, teacher, Chester Valley Elementary
- Jaidyn Myers Clyburn, student, Chester Valley Elementary
- Joey Winter, student, Chester Valley Elementary
- Kathryn Kurtz, STEM curriculum coordinator, ASD
- Marilyn Sigman, Sea Grant Alaska, Marine Advisory Program
- Fred Filoialii, student, Airport Heights
- Diasly Rodriguez, student, Airport Heights
- Casey Vang, student, Airport Heights
LINKS:
- Alaska Geographic, website
- Anchorage Waterways Council, website
- Sea Grant Alaska, website
PARTICIPATE:
- Call 550-8433 (Anchorage) or 1-888-353-5752  (statewide) during the live broadcast (2:00 – 3:00pm)
- Send e-mail to hometown@alaskapublic.org before, during or after the live broadcast (e-mails may be read on air)
- Post your comment or question below (comments may be read on air)
HOST: Kathleen McCoy
LIVE BROADCAST: Wednesday, April 29, 2015, 2:00 – 3:00 pm (Alaska time)
REPEAT BROADCAST: Wednesday, April 29, 2015, 9:00 – 10:00 pm (Alaska time)
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