Wetland-related Educational Resources

Introduction and Goals
SWS Brochure
Coalition On the Public Understanding of Science
What is a Wetland?
Ownership and Use of materials in these pages
Links to Homepages of wetlands-related courses
Course materials
Links to other sites of interest
Discussion & FAQs
Contribute to this resource

Introduction and Goals

Theses pages are intended to facilitate sharing of techniques, skills, tools, and ideas on and about wetland education. It is intended for college and university professors, teaching assistants, and students; however some resources may be useful in K-12 or other educational settings.

The material should prove useful in teaching wetlands or limnology, in specialized units in ecology or environmental science/studies courses, or to supplement content in biology, engineering, geology/earth science, political science, and other courses. Please bookmark this page, and encourage your colleagues to visit and participate. As with all Web resources, this site is dynamic and will certainly evolve to meet the needs of users. Your contributions and feedback will help us achieve our goals.

This site is not intended for professional training, or information about specific schools/programs; click these links to visit relevant SWS pages.

SWS Brochure

You can download this PDF version of an information brochure that explains a lot about the SWS organization. If you print it, it will make a tri-fold brochure that you can then make available to folks who may be interested in joining the SWS.

Coalition On the Public Understanding of Science

COUNTDOWN TO YEAR OF SCIENCE CONTINUES
COPUS participants build momentum for nationwide celebration of science in 2009

SARASOTA, FL - Momentum continues to build for the Year of Science 2009 as plans for the year-long celebration, led by participants in the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS), take shape. With only six months left until the festivities begin, members of the scientific community are thinking about how to leverage individual and collective efforts to provide opportunities for the general public to engage in and explore the process and nature of science in 2009.

Participants in COPUS are supporting Year of Science 2009 in a variety of ways. Judy Scotchmoor, of the COPUS Steering Committee reflects-- "By simply registering your organization, adding a Year of Science logo to your Web site and promotional materials, and spreading the word about YoS09 to your colleagues, you are supporting this initiative - it is that simple!"

COPUS participants are also elevating the importance of public understanding of science within their activities as they anticipate 2009. The Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) will help launch Year of Science 2009 festivities at their annual meeting, which begins January 3, 2009 in Boston. SICB leadership is working with members of the Boston COPUS regional hub to integrate informal outreach learning opportunities into their scientific meeting. This will help meeting attendees think about new ways and opportunities to communicate science in their local communities. Likewise, the 2009 National Science Teachers Association national conference in New Orleans will be highlighting YoS09 with the theme Celebrating the Year of Science ... Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler! (Let the good times roll!) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Education Council recently voted to have COPUS be their official theme for 2009.

Kendra Rand represented the Society of Physics Students at the first COPUS Regional hub meeting this past March. "In my attendance at the regional hub meeting, I caught a glimpse of the potential of this Coalition. Through discussions with representatives from science museums, science cafes, schools, and a variety of other organizations, I realized that there were many opportunities for collaborations and resource sharing between our members and these other organizations, opportunities that weren't even on my radar!" Her enthusiasm has sparked the formation of a student thematic hub for COPUS which focuses on student engagement in COPUS and YoS09 across scientific disciplines.

At COPUS Central, energetic individuals from diverse participating organizations are lending their expertise to guide the development of the public portal for Year of Science 2009. This Web site will build on and highlight existing resources from the scientific community, enabling the public to engage with science through the event database, explore multimedia Web resources, and locate citizen science activities in which they can participate. In keeping with the twelve themed months (available for viewing at www.yearofscience2009.org), the website will have 12 designated sections full of interactive and informative content providing a rich experience that will help make science personally meaningful and tangible for casual browsers and science enthusiasts alike.

Richard O'Grady, Executive Director of the American Institute of Biological Sciences affirms, "Excitingly, the momentum of the Year of Science 2009 initiative is growing, but we recognize that the COPUS network needs to be much larger to truly reach into our nation's communities and bring conversations about science to the dinner tables of the American people in 2009. We have set our sights high with a new target goal of 500 participating organizations by mid-September and 2000 when Year of Science launches this January." COPUS participants will be critically important in helping build the network to meet this goal. There is much potential for growth when we consider expanding the communication network to more geographic locations and types of community organizations such as schools, community groups, and beyond.

For more information about COPUS and the Year of Science 2009, please visit:
http://www.copusproject.org
http://www.yearofscience2009.org
http://blogs.aibs.org/copus/

What is a wetland?

For general information about wetlands (appropriate for a general audience), try these resources:

The EPA Wetlands page
WATER SHEDSS information on wetlands by the Cooperative Extension at NC State University
What is a wetland, anyway...? (definition and significance) by the Audubon society

Ownership and use

These materials have been provided by users of the SWS website as a resource for education. Permission is given to use the materials for non-profit educational purposes. Copyright or other rights are retained by the provider of the materials; you must obtain permission before using them outside a traditional classroom setting.

Homepages for wetlands-related courses

Wetland Plant Ecology taught by E. Pauley of the Biology Dept., Coastal Carolina University

Course materials on file

Syllabi

Wetlands (lecture) (Special Topics: Bio 235, Davis & Elkins College 1997); also class assignments

Lab exercises and activities

Wetlands (lab) (Special Topics: Bio 235, Davis & Elkins College 1997)
WETMAAP program: has excellent exercises using aerial photography, NWI and topo maps, and much more.
The WRAPMANager website has software for conducting Wetland Rapid Assessments, the current US wetland delineation manual, information on the Florida wetlands mitigation bank, and more free materials for download.

Exams, quizzes, tests

Definitions/classification/hydrology: Bio 235 exam I(P.Weihe)
Soils, biogeochemistry, ecological succession, biological adaptations: Bio 235 exam II (P.Weihe)
Delineation, protection & regulation, creation: Bio 235 final exam (P.Weihe)

Homework, problem sets, study guides

Wetlands (Special Topics: Bio 235, Davis & Elkins College 1997): hydrology homework
Word Find puzzles ("search-a-word") with wetland terms---easy (32k gif), harder (44k gif), or advanced (60k gif). Contributed by Lisa Svengsouk.

Textbooks, articles, other readings

The Syllabus section of the site will probably give a feel for which texts are popular
A book review feature (part of a discussion forum?) has been suggested by a reviewer of this site

Popular Texts:
Wetlands by Mitsch and Gosselink (1993) is published by Van Nostrand Reinhold
Limnology by Wetzel is published by Saunders College Publishing
Handbook of Common Methods in Limnology by Owen Lind is published by Kendall-Hunt
Textbook of Limnology by Cole is published by Waveland Press

Case Studies

Images and artwork collection

Available Images
(see also links to images at other sites)

Links to wetlands education Web resources:

Wetlands-general

American Society of Limnology and Oceanography: Education Resources
Education department, Environmental Concern
Salt Marshes links at the Mining Company web site
Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds at the EPA. Or go directly to wetlands.
Riparian and Wetland Research Program, School of Forestry, U-Montana. Includes databases, slide shows of research projects
Lick Creek Park at the Flora of Navasota website, part of the Texas A&M Herbarium. Has nice images and description of various creek/floodplain, sedge meadow (with pond and forested areas), and other ecosystems...however numerous image files may cause slow downloads.

Wetlands-case studies

Oceans of Trouble - a multi-part, award-winning newspaper series appearing in the New Orleans Times-Picaynue. Details environmental problems in Gulf Coast of United States, many related to wetlands science.
Louisiana Barrier Reef Islands - information from a USGS webpage on these disappearing islands. Loss of our barrier reefs opens coastal wetlands to additional wave energy and accelerates wetland loss.
Putting Things Right in the Everglades - excellent article with related graphics, etc. in New York Times about the recent efforts to restore this ecosystem.
Mercury cycling in the Everglades Nutrient Removal Areas - excellent site includes description of the studies, photos and graphs, and data available for download.
Higher Ground - a report on analyses conducted by the National Wildlife Federation on floodplains and programs addressing flood risk in the United States.
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center - part of the USGS, this site offers background materials, aerial images, GIS, water quality data, and much more. The Missouri and upper Mississippi rivers are a large "case study" of an environment which historically had many wetlands.
Arcata Marsh & Wildlife sanctuary - treats the municipal wastewater of 19,000 in northern California, USA. Studied by researchers at Humboldt State University.
The WETMAAP Project - a wonderful web-based curriculum on wetlands and related sciences, using outstanding maps, photography, and background information on sites located around the United States. A cooperation between the National Wetlands Research Center (USGS) in Louisiana USA and Chadron State College in Nebraska, USA.

Education-general

FREE - Federal Resources for Educational Excellence
World Lecture Hall - links to course homepages

Natural Sciences & Engineering

Biology
Biology and Botany section, World Lecture Hall (links to course homepages) PLANTS database by the NRCS
Center for aquatic plants at the U. of Florida
Midwest Wetland Flora by the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, USGS
Cyanosite - information on cyanobacteria
Education Section, Ecological Society of America
Aquatic Ecology Page - many links to wetlands-related sites
Stream Biology website - nice introduction to topic relating to wetlands
Ecology: teaching resources from the Mining Company site
Coalition for Education in the Life Sciences - excellent links to activities and ed-related organizations

Engineering

Geology/Earth Science

Keys to Soil Taxonomy - Soil Survey Staff, USDA-NRCS
Eleven Soil Orders at U. of Idaho Soil Science Division

Images

These links are a courtesy only; contact the administrator at each site regarding allowable use of the images.
Photos from Everglades National Park by Philip Greenspun
Photo Gallery of freshwater ecosystems (mostly Florida). At Center for aquatic plants at the U. of Florida
Plant Systematics Teaching Collection at the U. of Wisconsin. Excellent images of plants; however knowledge of plant taxonomy needed to locate images of interest
Histosols images and captions -- at U of Idaho. Illustrates characteristics of several wetland soils
Lick Creek Park and Flynn Bog at the Flora of Navasota website, part of the Texas A&M Herbarium. Has nice images of plants, and various wetlands...however numerous image files may cause slow downloads.
Photo Gallery by Kerry Kilburn, Old Dominion University, Virginia USA. Excellent photos of wetlands (streams, plants, beaver habitat), mostly West Virginia USA.
The WETMAAP project has excellent photographs (standard photos and various remote sensing images) of a variety of US wetlands, plus supplemental information and curriculum.

Discussion and FAQs

This site could include a discussion forum, listserv, and/or list of Frequently Asked Questions. The general SWS site already includes a discussion Forum, however some means of communicating information and facilitating discussion specific to education may be useful. Please provide your comments or suggestions.

To contribute, make suggestions, or learn more...

Please contact Paul Weihe, site administrator, with questions or suggestions. Your innovations, teaching materials, and observations about wetlands education are appreciated.

The SWS Education and Public Outreach Committee also solicits your input on improving wetlands-related education. Consider serving on the committee, or volunteering to be a student presentation awards judge at the next annual meeting.

To learn more about wetlands, visit the SWS website which contains a wealth of additional information on wetlands science, policy,a discussion forum, useful links to other resources, and more.

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Society of Wetland Scientists