Week 2 ~ Getting started …

During my second week at Wickiup Hills Learning Center, Angie and I began our water monitoring project, we helped with some small projects here at Wickiup, and we helped and tagged along as the Naturalists did programs with kids groups. We’ve been having fun and making some good progress. We’ve started logging some good data for our water project.

We asked the ladies at Wickiup about their concerns about our externship. The only real concern for them was if they could find enough work for us to do. They had two externs here last year. So they were used to our routine and the expectations of the program. I was the third extern this year, so of course, that’s an extra body to add to the work load. But the three of us ― Angie, John, and I ― are pretty independent workers. We have a good game plan for our water project and that will keep us busy for the summer.

Week 1:

This week I started my externship at Wickiup Hills Learning Center & Area in Toddville. This is my second year as an extern. Last year I spent indoors with an engineering department. I really enjoyed that experience. I’m excited about this summer because I will still be doing data analysis, but it will be in a different setting. I will be outdoors a lot of the time. So that will mean sun - yay!, but bugs – ick! I am excited to be gaining more ideas for STEM projects to use in my classroom. In addition, Wickiup is near the school where I teach, so our summer projects will be easy to adapt to my classroom.

Some of these projects will be to create and update some of their curriculum to use with school fieldtrips, creating and updating informational materials to be used by their volunteers, and creating visuals for their flower, plant, and benthic macroinvertebrates (bugs found in water) identifiers.

But one of our main projects will be to monitor various water sites of the Middle Cedar Watershed. Monitoring water sites will involve chemical and bacterial testing and photographing and recording physical characteristics. The chemical testing includes pH, phosphate, chloride, oxygen, and nitrates & nitrites. The main bacteria we will test for is the bad e-coli. The training we received from IOWATER through the DNR allows us to record the data in the DNR’s statewide database. Throughout the next few weeks we will be monitoring some of the creeks, marshland, streams, Palo reservoir, and the Cedar River. We would like to use our data to add to the DNR's database and to create teaching videos and curriculums for our classrooms and for Wickiup. Ideally the water site monitoring would be done twice a year, fall and spring, up to monthly. So I could pick up some of the site monitoring with my students.

I really did not have any concerns with the beginning of my externship because this was my second year and because I had already visited Wickiup on a field trip with students. So I was already familiar with them and their services. The Naturalists that work here and Angie and John are so easy to work with, the transition into this externship has been easy and a good one.

My 2012 summer Externship is at Wickiup Hills Learning Center & Area. I will be working with two other externs, Angie and John. We will be doing various projects for the naturalists at the learning center. But one of our main projects will be to monitor various sites of the Middle Cedar Watershed. We attended the training workshop in Davenport this week. We learned how to do chemical testing for pH, phosphate, chloride, oxygen, and nitrates & nitrites. We learned how to do habitat and physical monitoring. And then how to test for bacteria, such as the bad e-coli. It was very cool, very fun. A lot of hands on experience. Throughout the next few weeks we will be monitoring some of the creeks, marshland, streams, Palo reservoir, and the Cedar River. We would like to use our data to add to the DNR's database and to create teaching videos and curriculums for our classrooms and for Wickiup.