For my first field day, I led a group of students from St. David Elementary (St. David, AZ) at the Nature Conservancy's Three Links Farm property on the San Pedro River north of Benson, AZ. We conducted a study of streamflow in the San Pedro River at two points on the farm. Students learned how to calculate streamflow from the cross-sectional area of the stream and the average velocity of the water. They then compared the streamflows rates for our two study locations. We used a variety of materials including an electronic flow rate meter and a tape measure--just like the USGS!
St. David students got their feet--and much more--wet in the San Pedro River near Benson.
For my second day in the field, I met up with students from Haley Elementary (Chandler, AZ) at the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert, AZ. We investigated how the amount of water in the ground affects the number of plants that live in the riparian environment. We did this by observing and recording plant types and concentrations at two points along a transect extending from the lake shore. We used a corer to extract soil cores, which we classified and estimated water content in the soil. The students analyzed the differences between the kinds of plants that grew closer to and further from the water's edge.
Students from Haley elementary take turns collecting soil core samples.
On both days we also did activities such as geocacheing to expose the students to a whole variety of techniques scientists use to collect data about riparian environments. After all the participating schools had their field days, everyone reconvened back at the University of Arizona Student Union for a research symposium. The students presented the findings of their water investigations in short oral presentations to their peers, just like professional scientists attending a conference. As a member of the NSF CNH Riparian Resilience project at UA, I really enjoyed this opportunity to be able to share my passion for and knowledge of our desert riparian areas with young students, many of whom had little exposure to Arizona's water resources in the past.
