Water We Drink - Day 5: Sharing the Story

Today, on the final day of camp for "Water Journeys: Drink," campers tested water samples from places along the path of water treatment for turbidity and pH.

They also chose the photos they wanted to share on the story map and they prepared displays and posters for the exhibit.

Then many came back after the camp day was done to the exhibit reception to show their parents their journey through the story of water we drink. 

Water We Drink - Day 4

Today campers saw the beginning of the Water We Drink story map, which combines multimedia story telling with the ability to use interactive maps to help tell where the story took place. It started as an outline and will be filled in with campers photos and artwork to tell the story of the water we drink through their eyes.

After reviewing all the places they have traveled following the water, and remembering how they've learned some ways to keep water healthy, it was time for them to participate in stewarding our water resources (while having lots of fun!) Campers walked to Sarita Wetland, and put in native plants that will help the water soak into the ground, help clean the water, and provide habitat for wildlife.


Then they worked on an art map of the waste water treatment map, expressing how the treated water returns to the river, after its long journey from the river, through the water treatment process, to their fountain, and down the drain.

Water We Drink - Day 3

Today campers followed the water that goes down the drain even further. From the sanitary sewer that they saw yesterday, the sewage travels by gravity through pipes to the Metropolitan Waste Water Treatment Plant. Campers:

• Took a quick look around the plant, from the entrance
• Recited the waste water treatment poem excerpt (and learned what Not to put in the toilet)

Screen the junk, and sink the grit

Pump the sludge and then burn it

Feed the bugs and add chlorine

Take it out and now its clean!

• Then they headed for a ride on the Jonathan Padelford on a special charter, downstream to see what comes out the other end of the waste water treatment plant: clean water!
• On the way back, Park Ranger, Brian Goodspeed, provided perspective on the river economically, as a place of liesure, and how it is affected by huge areas of land that make up its watershed.
• Lead Teacher, Kate Flick, read a story about "another way to listen," encouraging campers to continue their exploration of "who water is" in many ways, using all their senses.  
• Campers played on the boat decks, were curious about the views of nature and industry, and painted in their nature notebooks.

Water We Drink - Day 2

Today, Campers met Cathy Abene, Civil Engineer from the University of Minnesota, who showed them how the water comes into campus and goes all the way to the drinking fountain they are studying.
Highlights included:

• Seeing Giant Pumps
• Going INSIDE a water tower!
• Peeking inside the mechanical room where the water meter for the LES building is
• And arriving at the Drinking Fountain to appreciate the amazing journey water took from the Mississippi River to this point, just so campers could take a drink.

Then Campers created artworks to reflect on water.

• Co-teacher, Rebecca Barney, led them in a collage map using photographs they took at River Park and  the St. Paul Water Intake building.
• And Lead Teacher, Kate Flick, led them in creating the cover of their nature notebooks to answer the question, "Who is Water?"

Finally, Campers continued the journey, back at the drinking fountain, pouring water down the drain, and meeting Cathy Abene again to see where it goes from there.

• Dan, a plumbing expert at the University, opened up a maintenance hole over the Sanitary Sewer so campers could peek down at the other waste water that goes down the drain with the drinking fountain water: hand-washing water, and toilet flush..

Q&A with Cathy Abene

Cathy Abene, telling campers about
the stormwater catchbasin.

Cathy Abene, Principal Civil Engineer, in Facilities Management at the University of Minnesota is a tour guide for both Water Journey Camps - for Rain and for Drinking Water. She and her crew have got the keys and access to a lot of special places at the U of M and gave campers an inside look at how water flows through campus. I asked her about her work and relationship to water.

Q: What do you do for your job?
A: I work with a team to manage the water, sewer, and stormwater utilities for the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus.


Q: What do you like best about your job?
A: The infrastructure! The campus is old, urban, modern and agricultural all at the same time. From an infrastructure perspective this means that we have at least one of almost everything. But since it's a campus the scale allows me to become very familiar with the systems I manage. For an infrastructure nerd, it doesn't get any cooler than that.

Q: What is your favorite thing about water?
A: It's fundamental.

Q: What is your favorite place on the Mississippi River?
A: The area around the Stone Arch Bridge in downtown Minneapolis.

Q: What do you think people should know about water or that might surprise them about water?
A: There is no new water! Drinking water becomes wastewater becomes surface water and so on. It's a resource we should all be invested in protecting.

Thanks Cathy for all your time and teaching! 

Q&A with Justine Roe and Jodi Wallin, St. Paul Regional Water Services

On Monday, Campers got to meet Justine Roe and Jodi Wallin of St. Paul Regional Water Services at two different places along the path of water they manage - from river to tap. First, they introduced campers to the intake structure along the river that pumps water from the river into pipes, then they gave a tour of the St. Paul Regional Water Services McCarron's Treatment Plant. I asked them both some questions to learn more about their work and interests.

Justine Roe, Water Quality Specialist:

Q: What do you do for your job? 

A: I work in the Water Quality Unit which is part of the Production Division.  I work in the lab doing a variety of tests on water, work with organizations that work to protect drinking water sources and the surrounding watersheds, talk with a lot of customers about questions or concerns they may have about their drinking water, and give tours of the water treatment plant.

Q: What do you like best about your job? 

A: I work with a lot of great people.

Q: What is your favorite thing about water? 

A: It comes in three forms! Liquid, solid and gas.  

Q: What is your favorite place on the Mississippi River? 
A: My favorite place changes.  Currently it is the view from the balcony in the Minnesota Boat Club on Raspberry Island in St. Paul.

Q: What do you think people should know about water or that might surprise them about water?  
A: That water is precious and belongs to all of us and it is up to all of us to respect and protect it. 

Then I asked Jodi Wallin, who works in Public Information some questions:

Q: What do you do for your job? 

A: I am a public information officer. I provide information about the water utility to the public, that is anyone can ask me about the water utility and I try to get them answers; the media, such as newspapers and TV stations; and researchers or other employees wanting to know more about the water utility.

Q: What do you like best about your job? 

A: I get to take a lot of pictures and get to meet quite a few people.

Q: What is your favorite thing about water? 

A: Fishing on it. I mostly fish on lakes.

Q: What is your favorite place on the Mississippi River? 
A: I don’t have one favorite place. The river as it comes through Saint Paul is very pretty and interesting with boats and people. I learned how to row on part of the river in Minneapolis. And I grew up near the river in Brainerd, Minnesota.

Q: What do you think people should know about water or that might surprise them about water?  
A: How much work it takes to make it clean enough to drink and then get it to your house. There are lots of people who think that you can just drink it straight from the Mississippi River without cleaning it but that would likely make people sick.  It takes a lot of people working around the clock to make sure your water is clean enough to drink and that it is there every time you turn on your faucet. Many countries don’t have water that is clean or that they can easily get to without walking for miles.

Thanks Justine and Jodi for your time, and wonderful tours today!

Q&A with Nick Voss

After the water gets pumped from the river into the intake building, it passes through a chain of lakes on its way to the treatment plant: Charles, Pleasant, Sucker and Vadnais. Over lunch, kids generated questions about the lakes to send to Nick Voss, an educator for the Vadnais Lakes Area Watershed Management Organization that manages water at the lakes and nearby areas. I asked Nick a few questions to learn more about his work.

Q: What do you do for your job?
A: As an Education/Outreach Coordinator, I visit schools and plan workshops with adults to teach them about water. We talk about stormwater, runoff, and raingardens, and sometimes plan volunteer events to help out water quality.

Q: What do you like best about your job?
A: I love the many different interactions that I have to have in a given week. A watershed is made of dozens of groups of people, all making one big community. I enjoy discovering how everyone can contribute in their own special way.

Q: What is your favorite thing about water?
A: My favorite thing about water is the birds-- different birds favor wet areas vs dry areas. While they can be a fun challenge to spot and identify, they're also important indicators of the health of an ecosystem.

Q: What is your favorite place on the Mississippi River?
A: Definitely Crosby Park, just before the Confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. There is a certain tree on the sandy beach that hangs over the water. It's just perfect for a relaxing sit or even a nap!

Q: What do you think people should know about water or that might surprise them about water? [Or about the place(s) you are interpreting]
A: While it may not look like it at first, there are countless things to learn and observe in and around water. It just takes a bit of study to get acquainted with it, but once you've got it, you've got it for life and you can help share it with others!

Thanks, Nick, for your time and your help understanding Sucker Lake and the rest of the lakes in the area!

Q&A with Susan Nelson

On Monday, July 25th, in Brooklyn Center, campers met Susan Nelson, an educator for the West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission. She talked about how the landscape at River Park, helps protect the water next to it in the Mississippi River. Susan is an Environmental Scientist and Botanist with Wenck Associates. I asked her a few questions to learn more:

Q: What do you do for your job?  

A: I help keep stormwater clean.

Q: What do you like best about your job?  

A: Preventing pollution of lakes and rivers.

Q: What is your favorite thing about water?  

A: It tastes so good when I’m thirsty.

Q: What is your favorite place on the Mississippi River?  
A: Itasca State Park, where the Mississippi River begins.

Q: What do you think people should know about water or that might surprise them about water?
A: Because water cycles between the Earth and the sky, I could be drinking the same water that my great, great grandmother drank a long time ago.

-Thanks for the tour Susan!

Water We Drink - Day 1

"Water Journey Camps: Drink" has begun! This camp is about the "water we drink," in particular, for campers, the water that comes out of the drinking fountain at the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota, where the camp is held.

Camp launched with a full day of activities:

• Campers gathered at the drinking fountain, where lead teacher, Kate, recited a poem to launch the journey
• Campers each got a water bottle to travel with them on their journey, and poured the water into a common vessel, then refilled it at the drinking fountain
• We loaded a bus headed to Brooklyn Center, where campers learned about the cameras they would be using throughout the week
• Then campers met Susan Nelson, an educator for the West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission, who guided them to explore the prairie planting at River Park that helps rain soak into the land, and makes the water cleaner that does flow into the Mississippi River next to the park. The flowers here also provide habitat for wildlife as well as beauty for visitors.

• At the edge of the Mississippi River, campers collected water and met Justine Roe and Jodi Wallin of St. Paul Regional Water Services who revealed what goes on inside the white building across the river where the river is pumped into pipes.
• Campers lunched at a park, and generated questions about the lakes the water travels through for Nick Voss, a watershed educator for Vadnais Lake Area Watershed Management Organization. 

• Finally, campers met Justine and Jodi again at the St. Paul Regional Water Services McCarron's Water Treatment Plant which transforms the water into delicious drinking water. 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e1hrt1lk591wxso/AADISf3zzMuE2pRFT1NzGkqoa?dl=0

Rain Camp Day 5 - Final Steps and Sharing the Story

Campers running the GIS Story Map of their journey
for their parents at the exhibit reception.

Today Campers participated in some final activities to complete their camp experience and prepare for the art-science exhibit reception in the afternoon.

• Each student selected a favorite photo they took to include in the exhibit and in the on-line story map. But ALL the camper photos are available for viewing (and downloading) in the Rain Camp Photo Gallery on this website.
• The AM group students planted native plants at Sarita Wetland, to help provide habitat for animals, and help the water soak into the ground below, and eventually to the aquifer. (The PM students had done this earlier in the week).
•  The PM group students tested water samples from Sarita overflow, the St. Anthony Outfall, and Crosby Farm Park and learned about some of the ways to measure water quality. (The AM group had tested water samples earlier in the week)
• And all campers helped prepare the Commons Meeting and Art Space for the exhibit, making signs, decorating display tables, and writing a message to visitors on ways to help water. 

At the reception, campers showed their parents what they experienced and the things they made!

Thank you campers for wonderful week exploring the story of rain together!

Come back to this website in the coming weeks to see your photos in the story map and in August there will be a video here about both camps: Water Journeys: Rain and Water Journeys: Drink, that starts next week.

Rain Camp Day 4 - Reflecting on the Journey

The story of rain campers are following is being built in a GIS Story Map HERE!

Today Campers saw how their journey is starting to build a story to share with others.
They:

• Got a sneak peek at the outline of a GIS Story Map about their journey
• Learned that they will help tell the story by filling in lots of details about what they saw and learned using their photographs, words, and artwork
• Made an art map of the St. Anthony outfall they visited yesterday, expressing the "stuff" that comes out the outfall
• Made an art map of the flood plain forest at Crosby Farm Park, making note of animals and plants that live there.
• Made an art map of Sarita Wetland and all the pipes that flow into it, adding layers of plants, water, and animals that make this their home, and help keep the water healthy.

Q&A with Brian Goodspeed, Park Ranger

On Wednesday, July 20th, Rain Campers met Brian Goodspeed at Meeker Island Park, near the St. Anthony Outfall. This is also the site of the remnants of an old lock and dam. Brian took campers on a short hike along the Mississippi River, here to explore the significance of the river beyond Minnesota, as a nationally and internationally important river. I asked Brian a few questions about his work and interests in water and the Mississippi River.

Q: What do you do for your job?
A: I'm a Park Ranger for the U.S. National Park Service specializing in Education

Q: What do you like best about your job?
A: Sharing information about the river with students

Q: What is your favorite thing about water?
A: Watching wildlife use it.

Q: What is your favorite place on the Mississippi River?
A: Shallow places where I can see mussels on the river bottom.

Q: What do you think people should know about water or that might surprise them about water?
A: Fresh water is very scarce in most of the world. We are water wealthy in Minnesota.

Thanks, Brian for your time and tour today!

Q&A with Britta Suppes, Capitol Region Watershed District

Britta Suppes, Monitoring Coordinator,
Capital Region Watershed District

On Wednesday, July 20th, Campers went to St. Anthony Outfall to meet Britta Suppes and Joe Sellner from Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD). They told campers about how the whole subwatershed drains to this point on the river, including the storm drain campers are studying. They also demonstrated water quality testing and told campers about sources of stormwater pollution and how to prevent some of those sources.

I had a chance to ask Britta some questions about her work:

Q: What do you do for your job?

A: At CRWD, I serve as the Water Quality Monitoring Coordinator. In my position, I coordinate all aspects of our Monitoring, Research, and Maintenance program, including monitoring station management, equipment purchasing, data collection, data analysis, and reporting. Through our monitoring program, we actively monitor all District water resources (stormwater, lakes, and wetlands) and utilize the data to inform project design and overall management decisions for water quality improvement.

Q: What do you like best about your job?

A: The most exciting thing about my job is that I get to enter storm tunnels to monitor stormwater flowing through them—it is both thrilling and interesting being in St. Paul’s underground! But I’d say the best part about my job is taking scientifically collected data and applying it to solve real-life water quality problems that show measureable results and improvements in water resources.

Q: What is your favorite thing about water?

A: My favorite thing about water is that it drives most every process on earth (aside from tectonic activity!)—our climate, our landscapes, our terrestrial ecosystems, and of course, all living things. Water is a necessity of life. I am particularly interested in watershed management because it is fascinating to think of all the pathways water can take from starting as a falling rain drop to eventually ending up in the ocean. Then to think about how land use, human activity, and natural processes and landscapes can influence that rain drop along the way, such as reduced water quality, an eroded hillside, or the formation of something incredible like the Grand Canyon.

Q: What is your favorite place on the Mississippi River?

A: My favorite place on the Mississippi River is right at the end of Pike Island at the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Minnesota River— I have visited here many times in both the summer and winter, and each time I am amazed thinking about these two very different water resources coming together. Both rivers come from contrasting landscapes, which is very apparent when you look at the color of the water. The Mississippi comes from the northern boreal forests and is mostly clear, and the Minnesota comes from the southern farm country and is brown and turbid. It looks like coffee meeting cream!

Q: What do you think people should know about water or that might surprise them about water?

A: A major source of pollution in Minnesota’s waters (lakes, streams, wetlands, and stormwater) is SALT! Salt (or Chloride) is used for de-icing roads in the winter months. Once salt-laden snow and ice melts in the spring, it runs off the streets into water bodies. Once that salt is dissolved in a lake or stream, it cannot be removed so concentrations in Minnesota water bodies are continuing to build up over time. Salt in fresh water systems can be very harmful to fish and plants that are used to salt-free environments. CRWD actively monitors chloride in the District in both lakes and stormwater in order to better understand the long term effects of chloride on water quality. 

 Thanks Britta and Joe for your time today and all the insights about stormwater!

Rain Camp Day 3 - From Sarita to the River

Campers bused from St. Paul Campus to find out where the rain goes when it overflows from Sarita Wetland. They:

• Traveled to the St. Anthony Outfall to see the giant tunnel where the stormwater comes out
• Met Britta Suppes and Joe Sellner from the Capital Region Watershed District, who monitor water quality here and other locations in the watershed and talked about how people can help keep stormwater clean to help the river.
• Met Brian Goodspeed, a park ranger from the National Park Service who talked about the Mississippi River's significance to the country and the world
• Went further downstream, to Crosby Farm Park to see a floodplain forest and spend time by the river.

The story of rain that campers are following is being built in a GIS Story Map HERE!

Rain Camp Day 2 - Storm Drain to Sarita

Campers met Cathy Abene, Civil Engineer for the University of Minnesota to find out what happens to the rain after it goes down the storm drain. They learned this is also called a "catch basin."



















Campers used a map that shows symbols for catch basins, maintenance holes, area drains, and other things we can see on the ground that are part of the stormwater system.

Here's a picture from the overflow.

Q&A with Kate Flick

Kate Flick is the lead teacher campers met today. She loves working with kids to explore place and story. I asked her some questions to learn more:

Q: What do you do for your job?
A: I am going for my PhD in Natural Resources trying to think about healing landscapes. I also work with the Institute on the Environment's Sustainability Education program where I get to do all sorts of fun education projects.

Q: What do you like best about your job?
A: I really like working with students, especially going on walks outside where we think about who the place is.

Q: What is your favorite thing about water?
A: I love all sorts of things about water but some of my favorite things are swimming and drinking it. It's one of the only things that consistently makes me go "ah."

Q: What is your favorite place on the Mississippi River?
A: I like going over by the West River Parkway and ambling about the cliff sides through the maple, cottonwood forest. And there's a beautiful white sand beach over there.

Q: What do you think people should know about water or that might surprise them about water?
A: People should know that water is life.

Thanks, Kate for leading the campers on water journeys through the landscape!

Q&A with Rebecca Barney

One of the teachers that campers met today is Co-Teacher and Map Art Leader, Rebecca Barney, Research Assistant, U-Spatial, University of Minnesota

I asked her a bit about her work and feelings about water.

Q: What do you do for your job?
A: I make maps! Lots and lots of maps.

Q: What do you like best about your job?
A: I get to choose what goes on the map, the colors I want to use, and to make sure it tells the story I want it to.

Q: What is your favorite thing about water?
A: It keeps me hydrated and clean!

Q: What is your favorite place on the Mississippi River?
A: The Washington Avenue Bridge, I like to walk accross it and look at the Mississippi.

Q: What do you think people should know about water or that might surprise them about water?
A: We drink the same water that Dinosaurs drank!

Thanks Rebecca for the GIS work and creative map activities you've planned for campers!

Rain Camp Day 1 - Where does the Rain Go?

Campers arrived to day 1 of Rain Camp at Institute on the Environment  on the U of MN Campus for a day full of activities like

• Meeting the Storm Drain to ask "Where does the rain go?
• Decorating their nature notebooks
• Learning how to use the cameras
• Finding Rain (an expedition to the roof!)
• Picnic lunch at Cornercopia - the UMN student organic farm
• and Rain Lands, a walking tour of places on St. Paul Campus that show different types of plants and soils that rain might land on when it comes from the sky. like a mushroom garden, a trial and display garden, a Native American Medicine garden or farm fields filled with Lester Soil. 

The story of rain that campers are following is being built in a GIS Story Map HERE!
We'll add to this throughout the week with pictures of and by campers, art work, and stories they collected about rain's path through the land.

Oh good, Looks like rain this weekend!

What? ...Here's a clue... (count down to Rain Camp!)