WEST and Partners Provide Learning Opportunities for Local Schools
WEST (Water, the Environment, Science and Teaching) teams up with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Dept. of Environmental Quality, and Friends of Great Salt Lake to create a unique field experience for over 600 K-12 students.
This fall, the WEST (Water, the Environment, Science and Teaching) program at the University of Utah teamed up with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Dept. of Environmental Quality, and Friends of Great Salt Lake to create a unique field experience for over 600 K-12 students.
Students boarded a boat on Great Salt Lake to net brine shrimp, collect water samples for chlorophyll testing, read bathymetric maps and learn about the lake's fragile ecosystem. These experiments simulate the activities of researchers involved in an actual water quality study of the lake lead by the Department of Environmental Quality.
WEST fellows include GG students Jessica Allen, Kit Clemons, Bucky Gates, Scott Hynek, Melissa Masbruch, Winston Seiler and Kevin Uno. It is hoped that the interactions of the K-12 students with the graduate students and their involvement in a real research cruise will give context and meaning to the concepts learned and solidify an interest in science and the Great Salt Lake ecosystem.
