The academy is sponsored by the Waste Management Education and Resource Consortium (WERC) an organization committed to environmental education and technology development, the National Nuclear Security Administration, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Laboratory's Facilities and Waste Operations Division. Members of WERC include Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories, the University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Tech and the Dine´.
The overall goal of the WERC 2002 Environmental Academy is to increase awareness of how science, technology and mathematics relate to studies and careers in engineering and environmental fields and to provide teachers with the tools they need to implement a successful curriculum into their classrooms.
Schools are encouraged to send a science, mathematics or social studies teacher, along with one student to the academy; 22 students and 18 teachers are expected to attend the academy's activities this summer. The academy generally limits the number of attendees to 50.
This year's program uses innovative activities for both students and teachers to study the Cerro Grande Rehabilitation Project at Los Alamos in three focus areas, forest stewardship/fuel mitigation, erosion control and cultural assessment. Attendees will explore the physical setting prior to the fire, the emergency management and response, facility recovery, community recovery and the environmental outcome and emergency rehabilitation after the fire. Students and teachers will work together as a team throughout the week and will participate in field trips in and around the Laboratory and local environmental industries. The teams will see presentations by environmental professionals, do hands-on research and laboratory work, and learn to do their own Internet research and Power-Point presentations.
"The real value of the program to both the student and the teacher is the hands-on approach of the program," said Stephen Mee, Cerro Grande Rehabilitation Project Manager. "They get to go out into the burned areas, see the recovery programs first-hand and talk to the professionals doing the work—it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
The academy closes July 19 with the teams' project presentations and a luncheon featuring special guest speaker Peter Maggiore, Secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department.
The academy provides a $200 stipend for teachers and a $50 stipend for students and the program includes all meals and housing for both students and teachers. Teachers are provided curriculum materials to take back to their respective schools to aid in the teaching of environmental programs.
Los Alamos enhances global security by ensuring safety and confidence in the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction and improving the environmental and nuclear materials legacy of the cold war. Los Alamos' capabilities assist the nation in addressing energy, environment, infrastructure and biological security problems.
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Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and Washington Group International for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.