As of mid-September, a new Riverwatch site has been added in Ridgway so the Ridgway 3rd graders could be a part of this nation-wide initiative.
For those unfamiliar with Riverwatch, essentially it’s a largely volunteer-based project that aims to gain water samples from our country’s waterways. All volunteer samplers attend a training to ensure accuracy and continuity in the sampling. Not only do the volunteers collect the samples, but they also analyze them too — talk about dedication! These data are also important, because they show long-term trends and are used in legislation.
Arlene Crawford of the Ridgway State Park has been collecting Riverwatch samples for 10 years. She is a huge part of this project. When Robyn Cascade, a 3rd grader teacher in Ridgway, approached the UWP proposing that the 3rd graders get involved in hands-on learning with water sampling, the first person we contacted was Arlene. She set up the Riverwatch site for us, and on September 18, the 3rd graders took their first sample!
Ms. Cascade and the 3rd graders will be sampling every month until the school year is over, and during the summer months, the UWP and Arlene will handle the responsibility of collecting the new site sample.
Photos coming soon.
Thank you Robyn and Arlene for your dedication to youth education and the protection of our greatest resource: water!
