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

jekins@uidaho.edu

Marie Pengilly

IDAH2O Volunteer Coordinator

208-292-2540

mpengilly@uidaho.edu

Idah2o@uidaho.edu

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 jekins@uidaho.edu

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 idah2o@uidaho.edu.

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.