July and the Heat is ON!

As we start a new month, the level of intensity and excitement for the new Reserve and Watershed Science Center heats up. There’s a mountain of resources to sort through and I am learning about the operations of local and national centers, making comparisons, finding similar modes of educational and thematic qualities and drawing conclusions as to what will make the Center the place that the LSRWA envisions it to be.

Managed Rotational Grazing and Watershed Health

In addition to public school curriculum and outreach, the Center’s community programming will include information on regenerative agriculture, community gardening, and local food production. On June 18 I attended a Pasture Walk and informative workshop on clean and healthy watersheds at Brattset Farm. This farm is located in Jefferson County and is a family owned organic and pasture raised beef producer. I attended to learn about small family farms and their connections to conservation farming practices in Wisconsin. And to network!

The presenters, Kirsten Jurcek and her husband Pat along with Wisconsin Farmers Union representatives told a dire tale of the harmful effects of agricultural run-off in the state of Wisconsin and of legislative decisions taking place in Madison that would make your head spin.

 The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services had their “Behold Our Living Soil” trailer and presenter give a commanding and engaging demonstration of how soil erosion occurs on agricultural fields. The most impressive demonstration I’ve seen to date on soil erosion and agricultural practices came at the end of the workshop.

The Rainfall Simulator demonstrates what happens to the soil in 4 different agricultural scenarios. The machine simulates a heavy rain onto the soil which runs off into buckets that are below and in front of the soil samples. Watch the video provided in this link to discover a powerful way for people to see the effects of agriculture practices on soils.

This interactive simulator should be brought to every county fair in Wisconsin this summer! I’m sure it will make it to some of them. The simulator acts as a creative and experiential model to change behaviors and create emotional connection to our environment. How do we design more interactive and dynamic messages like this one?
 
After the presentations, we were treated to a home-made dinner of sloppy joes and chips produced on the farm and by a local organic tortilla chip producer. Then we all piled into a long trailer and toured the property. It was an enchanting evening that these pictures can only hope to capture. Kirsten and Pat are dedicated to the small family farm and are master stewards of their land. They gave an educational tour of their 1000 acre farm, that includes 4 different types pastures (vegetation and animal rotations) and a hazelnut and almond tree nursery.

I made a lot of good connections that evening and hope to have Pat and Kirsten as guest speakers in our first year at the Center.

I was excited to learn that the LSRWA has developed, with the help of senior ecologists and map makers at Applied Ecological Services, an interactive tool that they have used for school presentations on watershed science called the Environscope. It is an interactive model in which students can see where the water they are using ends up. A powerful message that can be experienced first-hand, and takes about 10 minutes to teach.

The “WHY” Comes First

Monday July 8, Susan and I are giving a short presentation to the principals of all three Brodhead, Wisconsin schools announcing the opening of the Reserve and the Watershed Science Center and inviting teachers to engage and utilize the Center as a learning and teaching resource. I am preparing my presentation by starting with the message box diagram template that Nathan Henry was so kind to share in our second semester ! Thoughts are returning to the the podcast we watched last summer in Kathleen and Tom’s class about how Apple marketed their products. Writing the presentation with the WHY in mind first and then the HOW.

Tying it all Together Makes Sense

I’ve visited many nature centers and I’ve found that most are offering the same types of programs that include education on plants, animals, birds, insects and amphibians. Some are offering outdoor survival and outdoor recreational activities.  The LSRWA wants to maintain its “watershed and water” center of learning first and then gradually add on to this with recreational type activities within the next 5 years.

I’ve found that with the centers I’ve visited that there is lacking a common thread for the programs. I’m leaning towards the models of the Ecology school and the Hidden Villa as these centers have a core and central theme and then work on how it all connects together to benefit ecosystems and the planet.

Susan and I have completed a model for public school curriculum design and will be working on the community programming model this month. I’ve completed the Education Plan timeline and I am busy working on the action items on that timeline.

Teaching watershed ecological literacy starts with this framework which will give the Center a solid foundation to work from. The programming can then grow from its roots. Without a root system it will be hard to expand in a way that makes sense and things may stray away from their origins.

As I travel to area nature and environmental centers I’m experiencing the feeling of many good intentions that end up resembling nature day care centers. I’m finding that there are many haphazard and disconnected modes of getting people and kids to learn. Perhaps there’s too much focus on what the audience wants to hear and see and not on the ecological connections between the elements in nature?

Knowing what your audience wants and expects and giving them a strong environmental learning foundation that builds watershed ecological literacy is the balancing act we are going to have to be aware of.