Groundwater Models and Training Awarded to Teachers
Nine years of Groundwater teacher training and going strong!
By Dave Lindorff & Becky Olson

For the past nine years, Wisconsin teachers have been offered the chance to compete for an award that provides a groundwater "sandtank" model, educational materials, and hands on instruction that will help them bring groundwater education into the classroom. The award is given to teams of teachers, usually two, that must work together to write a short report describing how they will use the model in their schools. Additionally it is important that their application demonstrate how they will work together to ensure that groundwater education reaches the largest number of people in their school's community as possible.

A groundwater model is an "ant farm-like" teaching tool. It allows an educator to provide a visual demonstration of a variety of groundwater movement principles including how contaminants can move through the water table, and how pumping a well may affect or not affect the water levels or nearby surface water. By providing training and groundwater models to teachers, the intent is that students and their parents will learn about and make wise choices about protecting Wisconsin's groundwater. After this year's workshops, over 100 groundwater models will have been given to schools.

The training will be led by Chris Mechenich of the Central Wisconsin Groundwater Center and Ron Hennings, recently retired from the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey. Sixteen Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau staff have graciously agreed to serve as resource people to the teachers at one of the workshops.

This year's winners showed extraordinary dedication, ability and enthusiasm for using a groundwater model in their classroom. Here are the winners!

Listed by training workshop date and location.

January 30, 2003
Bethel Horizons Nature Center (near Governor Dodge State Park)

River Ridge School District in Patch Grove
Iowa-Grant Elementary School in Livingston
Belmont Community School
Pecatonica Area High School in Blanchardville
The Learning Cabin/Lynch Home School in Waupun and Beaver Dam
Tri-school consortium in Cuba City, Hazel Green and Benton
Highland High School
North Crawford Schools in Soldiers Grove

February 4, 2003
Waukesha County Administration Center (Waukesha, WI)

Brookfield Central High School
West Allis Central High School
Park High School in Racine
El Puente High School in Milwaukee
Pewaukee High School
Mayville Middle School
Reuther Central High School in Kenosha
Random Lake Middle School

February 5, 2003
Waukesha County Administration Center (Waukesha, WI)

Frische Middle School in Milwaukee
Loyola Academy High School and Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee
Watertown High School
Arrowhead High School in Hartland
Wisconsin School for the Deaf in Delavan
New Berlin West High School
Brillion High School
Jefferson Elementary School in Waupun

If you would like more information on the Groundwater Model Teacher Training Workshops please contact Dave Lindorff at (608) 266-9265 or e-mail david.lindorff@dnr.state.wi.us.

Reproduced with permission from the Bubbler, the Wisconsin DNR Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater newsletter, December, 2002.