Amman Imman: Water is Life
The chapter has been working with Amman Imman over the last couple of years to raise funds for water development projects in the Azawak of West Africa.
Help with Water Chemical Testing (December 8th, 2010)
A couple AWRA members visited the Blacksburg High School AP Environmental Science class before the holidays and assisted with chemical testing of Toms Creek. Further involvement with this class will take place in the spring when the class does outside soil and water labs.
Water Movie Night (December 7th, 2010)
AWRA members met and watched "Blue Gold," a documentary about world water issues. Another water movie night will be hosted at the Blacksburg public library and be open to the community during the spring semester.
Save Our Streams Training (November 13th, 2010)
A group of eleven AWRA members traveled to Bent Mountain, Virginia to learn S.O.S. (Save Our Streams) techniques. Jay Gilliam (reknowned Virginia S.O.S. trainer) taught the AWRA group how to use the "Rocky Bottom" biological monitoring techniques modified by Dr. Voshell from Virginia Tech. More information can be found at vasos.org.
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| AWRA members learning about the Virginia SOS techniques. |
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Wes and Jay (Virginia SOS trainers) showing the Tech students how to calculate six different metrics used to determine if the near-by stream is considered acceptable or not (regarding ecological health determined by biological communities present).
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Help with Teacher Training (August 27th, 2010)
Several AWRA members participated and assisted with an inservice training workshop for elementary and secondary education teachers within Montgomery County. The workshop was run by the supervisor of science education for the county, the outreach coordinator in Geosciences at Virginia Tech, the coordinator of the 4-H extension program, and a educator from the Skyline Soil and Water Conservation District. General topics discussed included how to use the outdoor classroom for education. A tour of the Izaak Walton League of America park and outdoor facilities was given in hopes that local teachers will use the area for field trips and outdoor activities.
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| Secondary education teachers gathered around to hear how students have been using gathered data from piezometers for a planned wetland restoration project. |
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| Llyn Sharp, the outreach coordinator in Geosciences at VT, talked with teachers about the equipment, activities, and models that can be borrowed for use in the classroom from Tech. |
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| A few piezometers were installed on the property to teach local high school students about groundwater measurements |
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| Robert viewing the differences between the normal and albino fish within the stream. |
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| Tours of the Izaak Walton League of America park and facilities was given. The facility includes ponds, wetlands, trails, a park and shelter, archery and gun range, a clubhouse, and a fish run (above). |
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| The fish run. |
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| A member of the Skyline Soil and Water Conservation District went through a demonstration with elementary school teachers on how to use a watershed model in the classroom to talk about such concepts as the water cycle, water flow paths, pollution, recycling, best management practices, erosion, sedimentation, waste water treatment centers, and much more. |
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| The enclosed fish run is used to grow fish to eventually be used in stocking. |
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| Robert, Jenae, and Tricia viewing the different levels of the fish run where trout are grown before being released. |
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| Teachers viewing the fish run. |
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| Albino trout are created through application of pressure and temperature changes to fish eggs. This process changes these diploids to triploids (possessing three sets of chromosomes). This cell change creates the albino appearance of the trout which is then unable to reproduce. This method is used for more efficient fish counts. |
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| Tricia and others viewing the different levels of the fish run (each level holding a different age of fish). |
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| The IWLA's park and shelter. |
