It's Water-Wise Wednesdays with Frannie the Fish! {Frannie's Top 5 - Educational Activities at Home!}

Hello friends!

Frannie knows that the world is changing really fast right now and some of you may be out of school for one, two, maybe even eight weeks. But just because you're not at school doesn't mean that your groundwater education has to stop!

These are Frannie's top 5 educational tools and activities to help you continue to explore the wonderful world of groundwater.

5) Hydro-Van-Gogh

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a little droplet of water making your way through the water cycle? What would you see? How would it feel? Explore these questions and more by painting your way through the ground, surface, and sky in a fun activity that combines art with science.

4) Growing with Groundwater

Groundwater is the water that helps grow our food and flowers. See how plants are a part of the water cycle by building a mini-terrarium. Simply plant a few flower seeds in a clear container, water it, seal it tightly, leave it in sunshine, and there you go! A water cycle in a jar!

3) 30by30 Mobile App

Did you know that the average American uses over 100 gallons of water each day? Find out how much you're using by marking how many times you fill your water glass, how long you take a shower, how many vegetables you wash, and much more. Challenge yourself to reduce your use by 30 gallons over the next month (just don't skimp on washing your hands!)

2) Hydrogeology Challenge

This one is a bit challenging (hence the name!) and you should know how to calculate slope using the y=mx+b formula. This online modeling tool walks you through how to use well information to calculate the direction and speed that groundwater is flowing. Real groundwater scientists use this information every day in order to figure out if a contaminant poses a threat to wells and communities downstream. Are you up for a bigger challenge? Email hydro@groundwater.org and receive a scenario in which you must use the information you calculated with the model to help a community protect its water source.

1) Awesome Aquifer Kit

This is Frannie's favorite activity. You might remember the blog series she did using the Awesome Aquifer Kit a while ago. The Awesome Aquifer Kit can be used to show so many important concepts about groundwater, including how it moves between the surface and subsurface, how people can get access to groundwater, and how contamination spreads. You can get 20% off your very own Awesome Aquifer Kit using code GWAW20 if you order by March 31.

BLOG: Groundwater Education that Works

by Jennifer Wemhoff, Groundwater Foundation

Groundwater can be a tricky subject to teach. After all, you can't go outside and look at groundwater the way you can a lake or river. It's hard to visualize something so abstract, let alone understand and appreciate it.

That challenge has driven the Groundwater Foundation for 35 years to find innovative, hands-on, brains-on ways to teach kids - and adults - about groundwater.

Over the past couple years, the Groundwater Foundation has implemented a wide-ranging project, Recharging Groundwater Education: Tools for Engagement and Action. Through the project's pilot in Nebraska, over 300 educators learned how to use various teaching tools in their classroom, including:

• Awesome Aquifer Kit
• Hydrogeology Challenge

Both the Awesome Aquifer Kit and Hydrogeology Challenge enable students to investigate groundwater, a vital natural resource that plays a critical role in sustaining life but cannot be experienced directly. The tools also allow educators to point out issues specific to their local community (i.e. lithology from local well logs, existing contamination threats, etc.), which is an important feature to making the lessons pertinent to students' lives.

These tools have been used with great success in elementary, middle, and high schools across the state, and thanks to online training and resources, throughout the country and world. Educators told us: "I now feel prepared and motivated to teach about groundwater and its role in life and our role in protecting it to my students."

Some educators first utilized the groundwater education activities in the classroom, but then moved beyond into local action. "In-classroom learning went great, and it became a three-week unit including an onsite field trip based on the reported hydrogeology of the area. The students were engaged the majority of the time and were challenged to determine outcomes from the classroom learning."

The Awesome Aquifer Kit is a hands-on model-building kit that promotes cooperative learning through inquiry. Because groundwater is hidden in aquifers below the earth’s surface, the unique format of the Kit allows students to “see” groundwater and how it moves. As students build their aquifer model, they increase their environmental literacy and understanding of groundwater’s role in their lives. The versatility of the Awesome Aquifer Kit enables educators to challenge students of different grade levels with varying levels of complexity. 

A high school teacher who used the Kit in the classroom told us: "The activities are fun and easy to follow. They explained groundwater and how to translate it to the classroom."

The Hydrogeology Challenge is a data-driven computer-based groundwater simulation tool that challenges students to investigate groundwater flow, contemplate the difference between modeling and reality, and apply the calculations to identify solutions to real-life threats to groundwater. The Hydrogeology Challenge is a highly regarded teaching tool by educational and water industry professionals and can be adapted to many grade levels. An assistant professor in Geology and Geological Engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology stated: “It is a great tool for introducing groundwater modeling.” And a student who used Hydrogeology said: “Hydrogeology is my favorite part of science and using it in conjunction with computer modeling is an interesting new way to study it.”  

Groundwater education is necessary to foster the next generation of groundwater industry professionals, managers, and stewards. Get started in your classroom or community: www.groundwater.org/kids or get in touch at info@groundwater.org. 

It's Water-Wise Wednesdays with Frannie the Fish! {Video Learning Series: Groundwater Education Toolkit Training Videos}

This is the fourth blog in a series of video learning opportunities from the Groundwater Foundation. Click to see the previous blogs on the Groundwater Foundation, how the Awesome Aquifer Kits are made, and the Groundwater Guardian program.
---
Groundwater education is so important in the process of protecting this precious resource. Integrating the Groundwater Foundation's educational tools is easier than ever with a new series of training videos.

Each video focuses on a different resource within the educator toolkit. The first video in the series outlines what groundwater is, why groundwater education in our classroom is so important, and sets up how the training videos will help educators bring groundwater models into their classroom.

The following three videos in the series focus on the Hydrogeology Challenge, an online groundwater model that presents users with a map of an area with wells and some well logs. Users walk through the same calculations that professional hydrogeologists use to calculate groundwater flow direction, slope, and speed. In the classroom, teachers can challenge their students even further with an Applied Knowledge Scenario, which asks the students to use the calculations to evaluate a potential threat to groundwater. The Hydrogeology Challenge and Applied Knowledge Scenarios is best used with upper level students to show them how algebra and geometry can be used with science to solve real-world problems.

The rest of the videos in the series shine a light on the many different activities that can be done with the Awesome Aquifer Kit. Faithful readers of Frannie's blog may remember the blog series she did a while ago, demonstrating everything from the connection between groundwater and surface water to how permeability affects groundwater's ability to flow within different soils. The videos provide top tips on how use the kits, maintain them, and make them a regular part of a teacher's water science unit.

You can watch each video on its own or watch them all in a playlist on the Groundwater Foundation's YouTube channel.

BLOG: Free Educator Toolkit

by Jennifer Wemhoff, Groundwater Foundation

The Groundwater Foundation has compiled a variety of educational tools and resources into a convenient downloadable Educator Toolkit, available for free on the Foundation’s website.

The Toolkit is organized by age level, making it easy for elementary, middle, and high school educators to find the tools to best suit their classrooms or extracurricular setting. There are also a series of tools appropriate for all age groups.

The featured tool for both elementary and middle school ages is the Awesome Aquifer Kit. The additional resources can be used to supplement the curriculum.

Elementary resources include fun hands-on activities like the story of Frannie the Fish, Growing with Groundwater, word searches and crossword puzzles, Upcycled Conservation Flowers, Clean Water Challenge, and many more.

For middle school educators, find lesson plans and student worksheets, plus instructions for activities like You Be the Judge, Contamination on the Move, Water Quality Survey, and other free tools.

For high school educators, the featured tool is the Hydrogeology Challenge, a learning tool that introduces students to basic groundwater modeling concepts. Find a guide to Hydrogeology and links to other advanced activities.

There are additional free tools and resources appropriate for all ages - a demonstration of the Awesome Aquifer Kit, the Water1der and 30by30 free mobile apps, and the Groundwater Guardian and Groundwater Guardian Green Site programs.

Find the free educator toolkit, along with other great resources educators can use in the classroom and beyond to help students understand groundwater and how they can take action to protect it, visit www.groundwater.org/kids/classroom.

BLOG: Scholarships for the Next Generation of Groundwater Professionals

Fostering the next generation of groundwater industry professionals is an important part of the work we do at the Groundwater Foundation. Now there are two Groundwater Foundation scholarship programs are available to help students pursuing careers in the groundwater industry.

Len Assante Scholarship Program
The Len Assante Scholarship Program was developed to nurture and support those who wish to pursue and advance careers involving the protection, distribution, remediation, and responsible utilization of groundwater resources.

Scholarships are for full-time students only (including high school seniors who are applying for scholarships to be used in their first quarter or semester of post-secondary study). Scholarship amounts are dependent on available funds annually.

Len Assante Scholarship applicants must be enrolled in a program that is groundwater industry-related, including (but not limited to):

• hydrogeology
• water resource management
• water well construction and supply
• geology

The application period for the Len Assante Scholarship Program opens February 1, 2019 and all applications must be submitted by April 15, 2019.

Find the downloadable scholarship application form and information on the Groundwater Foundation’s website.

Farvolden Scholarships

Farvolden Scholarships are made in memory of Robert Farvolden of the University of Waterloo and former National Ground Water Association Director of Science and Technology. Farvolden Scholarships are made possible by support from S.S. Papadopulos & Associates, Inc.

Farvolden Scholarships are for full-time students that submit an abstract for a poster/platform presentation at NGWA’s Groundwater Week Summit. All such students whose abstracts are accepted for presentation will be evaluated at the event by two or more judges. The four students with the highest scores will receive the Farvolden Scholarships. Four $500 Farvolden Scholarships are awarded annually.

Farvolden Scholarship applicants must be enrolled in a program that is groundwater industry-related, including (but not limited to): 

• hydrogeology
• water resource management
• water well construction and supply
• geology

To apply, submit a poster session proposal by April 21, 2019. 

If you have any questions about either the Len Assante Scholarship Program or Farvolden Scholarship Program, please contact the Groundwater Foundation at 402-434-2740 or email info@groundwater.org.

BLOG: Varied Paths and Careers in Water

by Jane Griffin, The Groundwater Foundation

It was just over ten years ago that I entered into a career in the water world when I accepted my current position at the Groundwater Foundation. A comment that I have consistently heard during the years is the water industry needs new young people to fill the jobs that will soon be available in abundance. Early on when I thought about this comment, I immediately envisioned water operators. Clearly the picture is a lot bigger than just water operators. 

I realized how far-reaching jobs that impact the water industry are when listening to a lecture given by Mogens Bay, Executive Chairman, Valmont Industries and Robert Meaney, Sr. Vice President, Valmont Industries – Retired about global water security. Bay stated “more than a question of water scarcity we are faced with the question of developing and implementing proper management practices and sound policy on a global level.” Bay continued his comments expanding on the career opportunities that exist to address this critical situation.

Do you want to be part of the solution and ensure that future generations have a safe and sufficient water supply? There are so many paths that you can follow, anything from from marketing to science. I want to share how some of today’s water experts I know ended up in their job. For some it was a clear, straightforward path; for others it was serendipitous.

olssonassociates.com

Brian Dunnigan, PE,  Water Resources Team Leader, Olsson Associates

Story: I was working as a bridge designer when I saw an intriguing job advertised in the paper – to do floodplain mapping work. Pursuing the job led to a 25-year career in floodplain management and opened the door to other opportunities for me in water resources.

Advice: Be open-minded to all opportunities that you have an interest in.  You never know which opportunity may lead to your dream job.  Sometimes things just happen!

Matt Ondrejko, Vice President Global Marketing, Valmont Industries

Story: When I was considering taking a job with Valmont Industries in the Irrigation division I was doing a lot of research on the company. I came across a video online that showed former CEO Mogens Bay talking about the need to manage and use water in the most efficient and effective way possible. He then made a statement that by 2050 the world would have 9 Billion people to feed, clothe and house. That was when it dawned on me what a great opportunity it would be to help be part of the solution for better utilizing one of our most limited resources – fresh water.

Advice: Follow your passion but be willing to deviate along the trip – take new roads. The path you start on may not be the one you end up on or even finish on. Be willing to try new things but stay true to your core values and who you are along the journey!

Jim Goeke, Professor Emeritus, University of Nebraska –Retired

Story: My choice to study geology was a natural outcome sparked by my delight collecting fossils in the strip coal mines in Illinois with my mother when I was supposed to be fishing. The more I studied geology, the more I was moved by the vast amounts of time involved. I loved the people in the discipline and being able to be outside in awe inspiring locales. It was an easy transition to get into hydrogeology because simply I have always cherished a cool drink of water and I have been always fascinated by being getting that cool water out of the ground!

Advice: investigate summer employment with a local well driller or possible summer employment with the USGS or your state geologic survey. 

wellntel.com

Marian Singer, CEO, Wellntel

Story: I was a strategy consultant doing voice of customer/market research for Fortune 250s in energy and water.  I spent a year studying the groundwater market for a large equipment manufacturer and was stunned to learn that 1M of the 15M private domestic and ag wells in the US fail every year, costing $1B or more in emergency spend and that most of the time, no one really knew what was going on with groundwater.  It seemed to me that, with the right technology and data in the cloud, each of those 15M private wells was a candidate to become a monitoring well, providing the insight well owners and communities need to manage sustainably.  After a year of research and investigation Wellntel was started.

Advice: The scope and variety of potential roles and types of companies in the water industry will continue to grow and diversify as all players - utilities, well owners, equipment companies, communities, commodity markets, technologies companies and many more - wrestle with the need to price and sustainably manage one of our most important natural resources.

James Burks, President, Senninger Irrigation

Story: I grew up with a father fully dedicated to agricultural irrigation and feel blessed to have had great opportunities to pursue the same career. To be a part of conserving such a valuable resource while feeding people is extremely gratifying. 

Advice: Sounds cliché, but following your heart helps to ensure a career aligned with your God given strengths and passions. I’m not sure who originally coined the phrase; “Find something that you truly enjoy doing and you’ll never work a day in your life”, but I’ve always thought it to be spot on.

waterforfood.nebraska.edu

Rachael Herpel Assistant Director, Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute

Story: It all began when I met Bob Kuzelka, who offered me an assistantship based on my policy experience. Before I met Bob I had envisioned myself as a town planner, but I’ve been focused on water ever since.

Advice: Technical expertise is important, but it’s the interpersonal skills that really set you apart.  Being known for working hard and keeping your commitments means a lot.

Bob Swanson, Director – Retired, USGS Nebraska Water Science Center

Story: ’Twas serendipity that led me into the water world. I had graduated at Doane with Biology and Environmental Sciences majors and was planning to head off to Montana for grad school, but couldn’t for another year. I had internships with Crete Mills (didn’t want to be a lab rat) and USDA ARS. The ARS appealed to me, but crop science wasn’t a priority. I wanted to get into natural science. An acquaintance told me that the USGS was hiring and I should look into it. I thought, “I can do that for year.” It turned into a lifelong career!

Advice: Go for the internships - USGS, DNR, Groundwater Foundation. Paid or unpaid, it doesn’t matter, the experience does. I’ve had about a dozen interns decide to change degree paths and go into hydrology just on the experience. We’ve also had our share of the hydrologist hires that have realized after 4 years of school and getting hired by USGS that water isn’t for them. I rather know it was what I wanted before graduating than after and the internships are the key.

Bill Alley, Director of Science and Technology, National Groundwater Association 

Story: My interest in water began when I participated as an undergraduate in a study of acid mine drainage in Colorado during the summer. 

Advice: Keep an open mind and try to get a good grounding in the basic sciences.

So, as you can see, the paths to the careers are as varied as the jobs themselves.  As you start or transition in your career keep an open mind, you never know, you may get a degree in Art History – and end up with a motivating, challenging and rewarding job at the Groundwater Foundation! 

It's Water-Wise Wednesdays with Frannie the Fish! {FIRST Lego League}

Frannie has received a lot of calls lately from all over country from boys and girls participating in this year’s FIRST Lego League Challenge.  Why?  We’ll get to that, but first: What is FIRST Lego League, or FLL?  

Photo Credit: Denise Krebs

From their website, FLL “is a program that supports children and youngsters in order to introduce them to science and technology in a sporty atmosphere.”  The competition is divided into two parts that tackle different disciplines of a unique theme: the robot game and the research project.  In the robot game, teams practice the scientific method and hone their engineering skills to solve a mission with the help of an autonomous robot. The research projects, on the other hand, is the students’ prerogative to address an issue within their community and develop a product or solution with the help of agencies and experts in the field.

So why are they calling Frannie? Because this year’s FLL theme is Hydro Dynamics!  Teams will learn all about how to “find, transport, use, or dispose” of water as well as what we can do to help ourselves and the earth once we know what is happening to it.

Hydrogeology Challenge

The Groundwater Foundation has a lot of basic information about what groundwater is, why it is important, and what threatens it that can be read online.  The 30by30 (Google Play Store and iTunes) and Water1der (iTunes) apps are useful tools to track your water usage and practice your water trivia, respectively. Ambitious teams who can comfortably perform algebra can use the Hydrogeology Challenge to understand flow mechanics under normal (static) and pumping conditions. 

While The Groundwater Foundation can’t work with every single team, Frannie hopes that this information will help most students begin to understand the basic concepts of groundwater and hydrodynamics. For information specific to your region, call your local Health and Human Services or Water Utilities departments.  If you are part of an FLL team and you come up with an idea to improve one of our existing activities, please let us know by emailing guardian@groundwater.org.
Good luck in this competition season!

It's Water-Wise Wednesdays with Frannie the Fish! {2017 Groundwater Foundation National Conference}

She's back!  Frannie the Fish spent most of last week in the lovely mountain city of Boise, Idaho for the 2017 Groundwater Foundation National Conference.  In the picture above, you can see her working hard to let people know about the Girl Scout Keep it Clean! and Ask Me About Groundwater patches for girls of all ages.

Frannie got to hear from amazing speakers like Pat Mulroy, from the Southern Nevada Water Authority, and Bill and Rosemarie Alley, authors of High and Dry: Meeting the Challenges of the World's Growing Dependence on Groundwater, as they discussed some of the most important issues surrounding groundwater at home and abroad.  Frannie also got to tour Boise's wastewater treatment plant and learn about Boise's struggle against the groundwater contamination they found when they were constructing a new park in the beautiful Boise River Greenbelt.

Frannie's favorite part of the conference was the Recognition Round Table Luncheon, where she got to hear from four leaders of Groundwater Guardian communities about outreach opportunities and solutions they've developed to solve groundwater issues in their area.  Each Groundwater Guardian speaker sat at the table for just a few minutes before moving on, but Frannie liked the personable experience and the chance to ask very specific questions about topics like sponsored field trips to the treatment plants in under-served communities and cost-sharing programs for well closure.

If you couldn't join Frannie at this conference, don't worry!  We are currently working to upload a conference summary and dozens of pictures on our website and we'll update the blog as soon as it's live.

Can't wait til then to learn more about groundwater?  Check out our Hydrogeology Challenge to see how water flows underground.

BLOG: Communities and Collaboration: Upcoming Groundwater Foundation Events

by Sara Brock, The Groundwater Foundation

June is an exciting month for The Groundwater Foundation as we bring many of our collaborative projects to fruition.

Working with the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) and educators in Western Nebraska, we bring the Recharging Groundwater Education program to a teacher’s workshop in Ogallala. Among the other useful tools teachers can use to enhance student science learning, we’re providing classrooms with Awesome Aquifer Kits and supplementing the traditional curriculum with new and updated activities, worksheets, andtechnologies.

Mid-June is marked by an exciting collaboration with the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute with the WELS2 program. It will bring Nebraska’s science educators the HydrogeologyChallenge program with an emphasis on model-based learning. Participating teachers will use the week to prepare and develop a groundwater curriculum that they will use during the 2017 – 2018 academic year. Understanding the concept of models and the Hydrogeology Challenge through Nebraska’s new College and Career Ready Standards for Science will empower teachers to incorporate groundwater education into their science classes, as well as provide students with a modern environment to learn and boost their problem-solving skills.

Finally, the Nebraska Wellhead Protection Network, another partnership with the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, will have its quarterly meeting on June 21^st in Hastings, Nebraska.  Beyond sharing updates and ideas for education and outreach programs, attendees will also have the chance to learn about and tour Hastings’ brand new Aquifer Storage and Restoration facility. Begun in July 2016, the nearly-complete project aims to increase drinking water storage and quality and simultaneously reduce the economic burden of clean water on taxpayers. Interested in attending? Register here.

BLOG: Nebraska Groundwater Guru Joins Foundation Board

by Jennifer Wemhoff, The Groundwater Foundation

Jim Goeke at the Platte River near North Platte, 2002

Jim Goeke said he always knew he wanted to be a scientist, but when asked why he chose hydrogeology, his answer was "Thirst." Fall football practices and games throughout high school and college made him appreciate the countless bottles of water needed to sustain him. 

Years later, Jim would become one of the foremost experts on Nebraska's groundwater. He was part of the founding of The Groundwater Foundation in 1985, and last week was elected to the Foundation's board of directors.

"The Groundwater Foundation is thrilled to have Jim on our board," said Groundwater Foundation President Jane Griffin. "As a hydrogeologist, His vast groundwater knowledge, expertise, and experience will be invaluable to the Foundation's mission."

Jim joined the University of Nebraska in 1970, after earning a Bachelors Degree from the University of Wisconsin and Masters Degree from Colorado State University. As a University of Nebraska professor and proud member of the University's Conservation and Survey Division (CSD, the state's geological, water, and soil survey), Jim was responsible for the CSD/U.S. Geological Survey test hole drilling program to delineate the Ogallala Aquifer. Over 1,100 test holes later, he has an intimate familiarity with the Ogallala formation and its water riches. 

According to his biography from the University's School of Natural Resources, Jim's main research interests dealt with groundwater and groundwater management, particularly under conditions of scarcity. He worked to gather data to model unconfined aquifers in the central Platte region and stream-aquifer research in the Republican River Valley. He served as the University's liaison to the Nebraska Well Drillers Association, and worked with USGS on the High Plains Regional Aquifer System Analysis (RASA) and the High Plains National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA). 

Jim retired from the University in 2011 and became a professor emeritus.

Jim has been active in education and outreach, given countless presentations about Nebraska's groundwater to schools and community groups, and has a long history of involvement with The Groundwater Foundation. In 2001, he received the Maurice Kremer Groundwater Achievement Award from The Groundwater Foundation, among his many accolades.

Technology to Create Future Leaders

by Anthony Lowndes, The Groundwater Foundation

Technology is nearly impossible to avoid. It is in our cars, homes and hands. It is also found in most sectors of the water industry for data collection and analysis, information distribution and overall ensuring the safe delivery of drinking water to communities. With jobs in the water industry expected to turn over at high rates in the near future, the need to inform and prepare students for these positions is vital. This is one of the reasons The Groundwater Foundation strives to incorporate technology into its educational resources as much as possible.

For example, the 30by30 app provides an interactive way track personal water use and the Water1der app challenges your water IQ through trivia and games. The use of technology was taken a step further by incorporating computer groundwater flow modeling into a Science Olympiad event. The event, called Hydrogeology, requires a thorough knowledge of the principles of groundwater and challenges competitors to apply the results calculated in the computer model to realistic groundwater contamination remediation situations.

After two years as a trial event, Hydrogeology was accepted as a full event for high school students following the 2015 National Tournament. Use of the computer model in Science Olympiad has carried groundwater education to over 4000 students in 27 different states. With several regional and state level tournaments using Hydrogeology in April and the National Tournament in May, the number will continue to grow.

Over half of the U.S. population relies on groundwater for drinking water. The Groundwater Foundation continues to strive in building the leaders of tomorrow through engaging activities that incorporate the use of technology, such as the Hydrogeology Challenge, and help prepare students for careers in the water industry.