http://blog.ltc.arizona.edu/azprojectwet/ Water topics relevant to Arizona for educators and citizen-scientists. en Copyright 2009 Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:10:07 -0700 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss www.epa.gov/watersense/pledge/index.htm After you pledge, check out the WaterSense website for lots of great water conservation tips and appliances! Please pass on this message!]]> http://blog.ltc.arizona.edu/azprojectwet/2009/03/join_the_watersense_fix_a_leak.html http://blog.ltc.arizona.edu/azprojectwet/2009/03/join_the_watersense_fix_a_leak.html Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:10:07 -0700 Rainlogger. With her own two hands and dedication, she has recorded 10 inches of rain in the last 11 months, more now when we count Monday night's contribution. The other day, Nancy pulled out her graph of rainfall at Maricopa County Cooperative Extension on Broadway and 43rd Street in Phoenix. There it was. A total of 10 inches had fallen, in the garden, right outside my office. The heaviest rain of the last 11 months had been July 13 when 2.05 inches fell in a single day. We had seen a three-month stretch of rainless days in the early spring, and then three months again in the late fall. Wow, who could argue with the data? But, it made me wonder, is 10 inches a lot of rain or a little? I checked out the handy online Rainlog map only to find that there is a faithful Rainlogger close to my house. There, only 12 miles east of the office, that oh-so-rainy day in July had poured only 1.6 inches into a neighbor's rain gauge. But, the accumulated precipitation for the same time-period was very nearly equal to Nancy's. Curious! What about out in Glendale, near my sister-in-law's house? There, July 13 yielded only 0.6 inches of rain, but the total rainfall for the year was 12.5 inches. Why are the numbers so different? Human error and variations in people's dedication aside, the Rainlog map for July 13, 2008 showed me that a narrow storm has swept through the valley, released its burden over east Phoenix, and moved on. Folks to the west in Sun City and to the East in Apache Junction barely even got wet! This Rainlog really is fun and entertaining! Not to mention quite a draw for citizen-scientists. And what a tool for teachers and students as well! This site has applications to data collection, data analysis, map-reading, graphing, and more. It opens doorways to math, science, and problem solving. It can start conversations around the dinner table or, over time, provide evidence for answers to deeper questions about climate change. And it all starts with a slim plastic rain gauge, a post in the ground, and a dedicated individual who is willing to record "zero" for days on end just to experience that thrilling occasion when there's actually cool, clear, water (or, warm, murky water, depending) in the bottom of the gauge. Now, it's your turn. What could you discover at http://rainlog.org? Looking for fabulous water-related educational materials? See Arizona Project WET at http://cals.arizona.edu/arizonawet/index.html]]> http://blog.ltc.arizona.edu/azprojectwet/2009/02/a_silver_lining_on_rainy_days.html http://blog.ltc.arizona.edu/azprojectwet/2009/02/a_silver_lining_on_rainy_days.html Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:39:55 -0700 ! * The virtual release party lasted only two weeks. The party is over and so is the contest! Thanks for playing *! The Arizona Project WET Web Page Virtual Release Party is underway! A VIRTUAL Release Party? Well, we would love to invite everyone over to view the new website and for punch and cake, but there are just too many on the guest list to fit into Kerry Schwartz's office. So, we're partying virtually. This is how it works. Grab a soda and a couple cookies. Surf over to http://www.cals.arizona.edu/arizonawet. And take a self-guided tour. While you're there, play a few party games. Gather a small group of friends around the computer monitor and play Trivia. (If you play Family Feud- or Jorpardy-style, then send us some fun photos to post.) Sign up for a workshop (don't you always sign up for things at parties?). Comment on the new web page via the BLOG (commentors enter a drawing for a neat prize). And come back again as the party should be building over the next two weeks! It's all fun.]]> http://blog.ltc.arizona.edu/azprojectwet/2008/04/comment_and_win.html http://blog.ltc.arizona.edu/azprojectwet/2008/04/comment_and_win.html Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:09:10 -0700 Ask any fourth grader at Soutwest Elementary in Phoenix, "where is water being wasted?" They will scurry to the girls bathroom on the west end of the school building and flush the right-most toilet. Then they will proudly stand back, demonstrating the waterfall that regularly runs down the supply pipe. Next they will tell you about a myriad of other faucets and toilets that behave similarly around the campus. Any one can instruct you in the nuances of the system. This one you have to flush twice to make the water flow. That one only does it sometimes. This faucet turns off quickly. That one runs for a long time. This revelation, that the children know, came as a result of the Water Audit pilot project taking place at Southwest Elementary School. This project is based on the Water Audit lesson in the Arizona Conserve Water Curriculum Guide. It involves at least one classroom from each grade group, K-8. The participating students are all to observe water use around the campus. Next they measure the amount of water expended at each observed use. Then they chart and graph the data and write proposals for how to save water on campus. Maricopa County's Water Sustainability Office and an administrator from the school form the Water Audit Advisory Board and will select the most feasible proposal(s) to implement before the end of the school year. It's a great plan. We even thought we knew where the greatest water waste and most feasible fix would be. (The project is only half-way through as of Monday 4/28, so the results are yet to be seen.) But like any other open-ended project on its pilot run, the students have more to teach us than we have to teach them. So far, in working with the fourth grade, I've been reminded that the children are great natural observers who respond well to a little guidance regarding reporting the obvious. They know more than we realize, see more than we do, and have greater ideas than we might expect. And, I'm suspicious that there's a sweet spot for sharing all of these right in that upper-elementary range - fourth, fifth, sixth grades - when they are given a voice and credibility. http://blog.ltc.arizona.edu/azprojectwet/2008/04/children_are_like_divining_rod.html http://blog.ltc.arizona.edu/azprojectwet/2008/04/children_are_like_divining_rod.html Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:55:52 -0700