Summer Teachers Institute 2017
Climate Change in the Pacific NW: Glaciers, Forests and Freshwater
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge ❂ UW Pack Forest ❂ Mount Rainier National Park
June 26, 27, 28, 2017
Day 1
NGSS Tools For Your Classroom, Stephanie Bishop, South Sound GREEN
- NGSS Sentence Frame Cards – Great for starting conversations between ‘elbow-partners’, sorting groups randomly in more than one way, etc.
Guests & Presenters:
Carbon, Climate, and Pacific Northwest Forests– John Hayes, Mount Rainier Institute
Resources:
- How is carbon stored in trees and wood products? (3 lessons – high school ages)
- A synthesis of current knowledge on forests and carbon storage in the United States (research paper)
Climate Education Resources – Casey Ralston, NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center
- NOAA’s Data in the Classroom
- CoCoRaHS – Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network CoCoRaHS was born in 1998 with the intent of doing a better job of mapping and reporting intense storms. CoCoRaHS became a nationwide volunteer network in 2010 and is now international with observers helping provide critical precipitation observations, benefiting their country’s needs.
- Useful CoCoRaHS Links include….
- Training slide shows
- Education programs
- CoCoRaHS Recruitment Flyer
- CoCoRaHS Brochure – More detailed version
- Field Photo Weekends is project to create a national picture of our landscape. The project started out as a way to compare visual impacts of drought to the kinds of things we measure, like rainfall and streamflow. But the photos of places that are not in drought can be equally valuable, providing a frame of reference for future years and seasons. More information here in this summary sheet.
- Here is a summary of global warming and climate change myths, sorted by recent popularity vs what science says from Skeptical Science. Click here for access to more detailed information on each response.
- Useful CoCoRaHS Links include….
- http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2014/20140506_climateassessment.html
- https://www.climate.gov/news-features
Habitat Restoration for Salmon & Climate in the Nisqually
- GSRO Story Map….Restoring the Nisqually: A Watershed Approach This Story Map highlights 3 of the major salmon habitat restoration efforts in the Nisqually – the Nisqually estuary, Ohop Creek (one of our field visit sites) and the Nisqually Community Forest.
- Nisqually Restoration Initiatives Map – This map shows the protected lands and habitat restoration initiatives throughout the Nisqually in more detail. There’s a lot going on here!
Eatonville School District’s Farm Project: GRITS…Growing Relationships In The Soil, Tod Morrish, Eatonville High School & STEM Campus
Ohop Creek Restoration : Re-meandering a Stream – Brian Combs, South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group
Exploring the Ohop
- Keying out Northwest Trees and Shrubs
- Restoration Project Survival Surveys – Basic version
- Restoration Project Survival Survey Data Sheet
- Restoration Project Survival Surveys – NGSS improvements
Mount Rainier Institute at University of Washington’s Center for Sustainable Forestry at Pack Forest
- Tour of Pack Forest
- Mount Rainier Institute – School Flyer & MRI Summary Page
- EcoSel Land Use/Auction Activity Resources
Day 2
Pack Forest, John Hayes and Amy Wilson, Mount Rainier Institute
- Timber Cruise: Forest Values in Dollars and Carbon
- Hike the Trail of the Giants (old growth)
Mount Rainier National Park
- Dynamic Weather, Changing Glaciers and Water Supply: Mount Rainier National Park in Review – Rebecca Lofgren, Aquatic Ecologist
- *Newly Released Research Paper!* “Change in glacial extent at Mount Rainier National Park from 1896 – 2015“
- USGS Nisqually Glacier Map: https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr83541
- Science Learning Network: http://www.nwparkscience.org/
- “Science Minute Movies” : http://www.nwparkscience.org/video
- Mass Balance Program: http://www.nwparkscience.org/node/1165
- Puget Sound LiDAR Consortium (LiDAR mapping tool): http://pugetsoundlidar.ess.washington.edu/lidardata/index.html
- Nisqually Vista Trail and Techniques for Teaching Climate Change – Annie Rundee, Education Specialist
Day 3
A Sideways Look at Clouds: How Our Skies are Changing and What That Means For Our Climate – Maria Mudd Ruth, local author and accidental naturalist Maria has put together a blog post dedicated to YOU, our awesome teachers, that covers all of the resources she mentioned in her talk. Also, her PowerPoint is here. Download it to your computer to view, and it will include her notes and they are so worth it! Remember – save the date! September 29th, 2017 at Eagles Ballroom- Maria Mudd Ruth’s book launch party for A Sideways Look at Clouds
Here’s the NOAA-NASA Cloudchart which gives you a Sky Watcher Chart and an introduction to clouds (printable 11×14″ pdf)
Adapting Climate Lessons to NGSS
- Forward or Reverse
- Glacier Goo…part of a larger set of lessons, Ice, Ice Baby (K-8), from Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets, Stephanie Bishop, South Sound GREEN
Stream Flow Investigations
- Flow Meters, Steve Boessow, Water Rights Biologist, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife
- Here’s the Google folder with Steve’s slides, flow meter history, flow calculator spreadsheet, and more!
- Float Test, Sheila Wilson, Nisqually River Foundation
Action Projects for Community Resiliency
Washington Green Schools, Nayiri Haroutunian, Program Manager Stay tuned for upcoming Thurston County area trainings! We are hoping to find teams to pilot their curricula: Zombie Guacamole and Students and communities across Washington State are working to create greener, healthier school environments. Together we are building a better world — now and for future generations. Washington Green Schools provides a system of support for school communities to set and achieve sustainability goals.
CoCoRahs – Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network – “Because Every Drop Counts – Volunteers working together to measure precipitation across the nations”, Gary Burke, CoCoRaHS local contact.
- National Weather Service Pamphlet
- Natural History of Puget Sound Country
- Seattle Was Awash in Rain and Liquor
- Temperature and Rainfall Data
- The White Christmas of 1862
Additional Resources…
Native Plant ID Resources
http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php
http://www.wnps.org/education/resources/index.html
Losing Paradise: Climate Change is Changing Mount Rainier
http://media.thenewstribune.com/static/pages/rainier/
OSPI’s ESE Learning Standards
Washington has Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) learning standards. (http://www.k12.wa.us/EnvironmentSustainability/Standards/)
ESE Core Content Connections
OSPI is currently revising their ESE Core Content Connections document, which gives some examples how ESE can be taught across content areas, while supporting content area standards. (http://www.k12.wa.us/EnvironmentSustainability/Curriculum/)
Native American Stories in Science and Sustainability Education
With a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington State LASER and OSPI upgraded three sets of commonly used elementary science materials to integrate Environmental and Sustainability Learning Standards. Additionally, the upgraded lessons are now also enhanced by ties to Native American stories from across Washington. Recordings of the stories, as told by Roger Fernandes, are available for all educators to use.
Green Ribbon Schools
OSPI encourages schools to apply for US Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools award, which is administered through OSPI in Washington. Participating in this institute indicates it is likely that your school already meets the requirements for one of the three pillars of the program: Pillar 3, Providing effective environmental and sustainability education, incorporating STEM, civic skills, and green career pathways.
Nice Weather We’re Having: a climate chaos bedtime story, by Marie Harris
https://www.amazon.com/Nice-Weather-Were-Having-climate-ebook/dp/B00Z4DAVM0
Presented by:
Thank you!