Environmental Monitoring

Teachers learning garlic mustard monitoring techniques

Overview

Environmental monitoring projects are great ways to get students involved with relevant, real-world projects that can enhance your classroom instruction. The information that students collect is used by citizens, scientists, and/or agencies to monitor environmental quality.  Students gain ecological knowledge, learn about data collection, acquire observation skills, and utilize critical thinking skills. There are a variety of projects in which to involve your students.

The Wisconsin School Forest Education Specialist is working to build a school forest environmental monitoring network. This network of projects, partners, and schools forests will allow students and teachers to compare their school forests with others across the state. The data collected will help us better understand the natural resources that exist at school forests. Topics will include invasive species, types of forest, forest health, soils, flowering plants, deer browse, water quality, and other environmental parameters. Watch this website for exciting developments and opportunities to participate.

Garlic Mustard Monitoring

Picture of Garlic Mustard

The first pilot project is the School Forest Garlic Mustard Monitoring Project funded by the DNR through its Citizen-Based Monitoring Partnership Program. This project is training teachers and their students to monitor their school forests for garlic mustard. Data is reported through the Wisconsin NatureMapping program. A training was held on May 7, 2005. Over 20 teachers participated in this training and, with their students, are now collecting and entering data. The data collected will provide a better understanding of the extent of garlic mustard invasion across the state and will document control efforts.

To see the garlic mustard data that has been entered, visit the Wisconsin NatureMapping program at www.wisnatmap.com. From the home page, select "Species Maps" and then "Species Mapper" from the next page. On the right side of the screen, use the drop down box to select garlic mustard and click the "update data" button. The map will display garlic mustard locations entered during the project. To get more information on specific location, select the "identify" circle at the top of the map and click on a garlic mustard location.

Garlic mustard is one of the most aggressive woodland invasive species. Within a few years it can completely dominate invaded areas and suppress other plants and limit tree and shrub regeneration.  For information on identification, known (official) range of occurrence, and control methods, visit www.ipaw.org/invaders/garlic_mustard/gm.htm and http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/fact/garlic.htm

If you haven't been trained in the project, but locate garlic mustard on your school forest, I encourage you to collect a "voucher" (sample) specimen and complete the data sheet as completely as possible. Both the data sheet and specimen should be sent to me. I'll enter the information into the project and provide the specimen to the herbarium. This is especially important if you have a school forest that is not in the established range for garlic mustard (see above websites). Data Sheet (PDF)    Data Sheet (MS Word)

Watch for additional trainings and opportunities to participate in this project in the future. If you are interested in participating, contact Jeremy at jsolin@uwsp.edu or 715-346-4907 for more information.

Wisconsin Worm Watch

In partnership with Wisconsin NatureMapping and Great Lakes Work Watch, we have developed the Wisconsin Worm Watch Project to encourage teachers, students, and the general public to survey school forests for the impacts of exotic earth worms. By the way, did you know that all earthworms aren't native to the Great Lakes region? Research is emerging on how they are slowly changing the face of our forests, but very little is known about the distributions of earthworms across the region. This is where you come in! Trainings will be offered to get involved with the project. For more information about earthworms and monitoring efforts (including methods), visit the Great Lakes Worm Watch website at www.greatlakeswormwatch.org To see where project participants have surveyed for earthworms, visit http://wnm.mapping-online.com/wisnatmap/map.do. Under "special projects" click "update". Funding to initiate this project was provided by the Wisconsin Citizen-Based Monitoring Partnership Program at http://wiatri.net/cbm/Partnership/

Statewide, National, and International Monitoring Projects

There are many great programs in which you could involve your students (many offer trainings).  Below are some of the best.