Berkshire's environmental organizations have joined to offer

BIODIVERSITY IN THE HOUSATONIC RIVER BASIN

In cooperation with C.O.L.T.
(Cooperative Opportunities for Learning and Teaching)

July 17-19, 2001

For Grades 3-8 Environmental Science Teachers

Are you interested in 

Earning PDP Credits?

Creating Lesson Plans that fit the MA Frameworks?

Teaching and Learning in
Berkshire's Fabulous Outdoor Settings?

18-20 P.D.P. Credits

FREE to C.O.L.T. Members
($150 to Non-members) 

PRESENTERS            SYLLABUS

Have fun with your colleagues and collaborate in Berkshire's spectacular outdoor settings.

This place-based course for grades 3-8 teachers utilizes field experiences in the Housatonic watershed to illustrate western New England natural and human history, compare various ecosystems, and illuminate the interdependence of different species of plants and animals.

Lesson plans are specially developed to teach environmental science to children through hands-on projects and place-based learning and to facilitate the use of outdoor settings in your own backyard.

Lesson plans can be used to model and focus the new Massachusetts Science and Technology Frameworks. Emphasis will be on how to integrate the material into your school curriculum and assessment strategies.

All participants will be eligible for funding to implement follow-up activities in their schools, supported by a professional mentor.


MORE INFORMATION

Dates: Tuesday, July 17 - Thursday, July 19, 2001

Time: 9 AM - 3 PM 

Place: July 17: Undermountain School, Sheffield, MA
July 18, 19: Bartholomew's Cobble, Ashley Falls, MA

Cost: FREE to C.O.L.T. Members 
$150 to Non-members

Please: You are invited to bring along one student partner (age 10 or older). 
If one is not available, a student may be provided.

Refreshments: Bring your own picnic lunch. Snacks and beverages will be provided.

To Register call: 1-888-573-9488 

Questions? Contact Rachel Fletcher at 413-523-3391 or river@restorehousatonic.com.

All participants will be provided with certificates of completion. Attendance will be taken with copies given to the participating schools. However, it is the responsibility of each participant to arrange with their school district to receive credit toward CEU's or PDPs.

We hope this introductory course will be the first of many environmental education offerings.

We look forward to seeing you!


PROGRAM PRESENTERS

Coordinator: 
Rachel Fletcher, Executive Director, Housatonic River Restoration

Presenters:
Laura Beltran, Education Coordinator, Berkshire Wildlife Sanctuaries of Massachusetts Audubon Society; Certified Facilitator in Project WET, Project WILD and Project Learning Tree 

Ruth Dinerman, former Conservation Volunteer Coordinator, Appalachian Mountain Club

Tim Gray, Executive Director, Housatonic River Initiative

Erika Levasseur, Outreach Coordinator, Berkshire Taconic Landscape Program, The Nature Conservancy

Tom O'Brien, EOEA Watershed Team Leader for the Housatonic Watershed; Certified Facilitator in Project WET, Project WILD and Project Learning Tree. 

Dennis Regan, Berkshire Director, Housatonic Valley Association 

Don Reid, Western Regional Ecologist, The Trustees of Reservations; Certified Facilitator in Project WILD 

Gayle Tardif Raser, Education Outreach, Berkshire Wildlife Sanctuaries of Massachusetts Audubon Society

Host at Undermountain School:
Donna Leep, K-6 science teacher, Mt. Everett School


SYLLABUS
Biodiversity in the Housatonic River Basin

DAY ONE
July 17: 9:00 am-3:00 pm, Undermountain School, Sheffield, MA

9:00 am-10:45 am:
What is a Watershed? (O'Brien) 
Project WET Demonstration/Lesson Plan
• Water as it flows connects ecosystems. 
• In most instances, you can see it, touch it, feel it, taste it, and measure it. A specific body of water such as a river or a pond can be used as a thematic unit. This lesson plan will use the theme of water as a lens through which to study all the earth sciences and to help people understand ecosystem connectivity. 

11:00 am-12:00 pm:
The Berkshire Taconic Landscape: 
What Makes this Place so Special? (Levasseur) 
This lesson plan will use the Berkshire Taconic landscape to explore landscapes as interdependent systems.
• The upper reaches of the Housatonic River watershed include matrix forests, underground water systems, and sweet water wetlands at the base. 
• How do these elements all work together as a functional landscape? How do mountains relate to rivers?
What is special about this place on a global scale? 
• Topics include: the health, size and diversity of the forest; unusual natural communities; and individual rare species.

12:00 pm-1:00pm:
Lunch and discussion 
How to Engage Students in an Outdoor Learning Setting

1:00 pm-2:00 pm:
Amphibian Populations (Levasseur) 
A comparison of different amphibian species, their migration patterns, mating rituals, and preferred habitats (vernal pools and permanent wetlands). 
• Field Activity: how to map amphibian populations and their migration patterns, with an introduction to GPS (Global Positioning System) and GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping techniques. 

2:00 pm-2:45 pm: 
Exotic Invasive Plants (Levasseur) 
Non-native invasive species comprise the second greatest threat to the biodiversity of our terrestrial and aquatic landscapes.
• Topics include: the concept of natives versus invasives; how invasives are defined, identified and managed; and native alteratives, including sources and sustainable ecological restoration strategies. 

3:00 pm-4:00 pm: 
Water Quality Issues and their Impact on River Systems
Why is clean water so important? (Gray)
The Water Cycle 
• The water in our river system is the same water that eventually ends up as our ground water. 
• How we've cleaned the water in the last 25 years. 
• The Clean Water Act (sewage treatment plants, industrial mills) 
• The importance of a clean river system to the food chain Tracing PCBs, DDT, and other bio-accumulating chemicals through the food chain from micro-organisms to human life.

DAY TWO
July 18 : 9 am-4 pm, Bartholomew's Cobble, Ashley Falls, MA 

9am-10:00 am:
Welcome to Bartholomew's Cobble: What Makes it so Special? (Reid) 

10:15am-11:15am: 
Water Quality Issues and their Impact on River Systems 
How to Read the Health of the River (Dinerman)
What a river needs to be a healthy system.
Many (though not all) water quality issues are visible in the river and its banks-if you learn how to look.
We will learn how to:
• Look for problems and make a general assessment of a river's health
• Identify issues that students can address
• Solve the problems we identify in our local rivers and streams 

11:15 am-12:15 pm: 
Water Quality Issues and their Impact on River Systems 
Storm Drain Awareness (Regan) 
Storm drain runoff and its effects on the health of our local rivers and lakes.
• Improving the water quality of our rivers and lakes by decreasing incoming pollution.
• Field Activity: trace storm water paths from rooftop, street and other sources through storm drains to river or lake destinations. Place decals on selected storm drains.
• Learning opportunities for local communities to participate in protecting our rivers and lakes.

12:15 pm-1:15: 
Lunch and discussion
How to Engage Students in an Outdoor Learning Setting

1:15am-2:00am: 
Introduction and Fishes (Tardif-Raser)
Life cycles of native and non-native organisms.
The cycles of producers, consumers, and decomposers.
Fish History of the Housatonic 
Natural history of fish
A. Fish characteristics 
• Vertebrates, oogenesis, etc.
•  Using live fish, we'll key out and identify
B. Life cycles
•  Anadromous fish
•  Catadromous fish
•  Potamodromous fish
•  Limnodromous fish
•  Oceanodromous fish
Fish species of the Housatonic Basin
A. Glacial times to 1700
B. 1700-present
Using fish history to tell the tale of the Housatonic and other New England rivers
A. Native vs. non-native
B. What happens next?

2:00 pm-3:00 pm: 
Reptiles of the Housatonic (Beltran) 
• The wonderful world of snakes and turtles
• Inquiry-based activities which follow the Massachusetts Science Frameworks 
• Learn basic identification and natural history of Berkshire County's reptiles

3:00 pm-4:00 pm: 
Benthics, or What Lives in the Mud (Tardif-Raser) 
Macroinvertebrate life found in feeder streams to the Housatonic River 
• The relationship of benthics to the various trophic levels (primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers etc.) in an aquatic ecosystem. The connection between the critters that live in the mud and the other organisms that eat them. This is especially important when considering solutions to PCB's in the sediment of the Housatonic or other rivers.
• The standard scale used to determine water quality based on the quantity, quality and biodiversity of the critters found in the mud (benthos=bottom) of any body of water. Using this scale to assess the comparative water quality of several sources.
• Activity: assess the water quality from mud samples collected from several sources. Identify the source (Springside Park? Yokun Brook? Richmond Pond? Stockbridge Bowl?). Students love this activity. 
• Note: specimens are pulled from non-contaminated feeder streams and other sources to avoid PCB and other toxic exposure.

DAY THREE
July 19 : 9 am-3 pm, Bartholomew's Cobble, Ashley Falls, MA
 
9am-12:00 pm:
The Interdependence of New England Habitats and Ecosystems (Reid)
New England habitats/ecosystems, including but not limited to wetlands, wetland types, vernal pools, pond life, mammals, birds, herbaceous plants, woody plants, grasslands, food webs, amphibians, reptiles etc.
• Natural history education for use in teaching about riparian and river ecosystems. 
• To be tailored to participating teachers' individual needs.

12:00 pm-1:00 pm: 
Lunch and discussion
Evaluation 

1:00 pm-2:00 pm:
Native Turtles and Amphibians (Tardif-Raser) 
• Endangered and threatened species of turtles and their habitat needs
• Successes and failures with habitat manipulation (wetland restoration, for example) as it relates to amphibians and reptiles

2:00 pm-3:00 pm:
Canoeing Safely on the River (Tardif-Raser) 
An abridged version of the 1-day Red Cross Course

Please send your comments to:
Housatonic River Restoration, Inc.
PO Box 472
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Telephone: (413) 528-3391
Fax Number: (413) 528-5224 
Email: river@restorehousatonic.com

This project is funded in part by the Massachusetts Environmental Trust.