CWU's YAKIMA "WATERS" PROJECT BRINGS AUTHENTIC SCIENCE RESEARCH INTO LOCAL PUBLIC CLASSROOMS

March 29, 2007

Ellensburg, Wash. - The National Science Foundation has announced that Central Washington University will receive a $2.8 million, five-year grant to fund the university's new Yakima WATERS Project. WATERS is an acronym for Watershed Activities To Enhance Research in Schools.

"The study of water's pathway through our environment is a rich and interdisciplinary topic," says Dr. Carey Gazis, CWU geological sciences professor and director of the WATERS Project. "The goal of WATERS is to incorporate interdisciplinary watershed research into public school science curriculum in grades 5 through 11."

Under the guidance of CWU faculty mentors, participating university graduate students, in biological sciences, chemistry, geological sciences and resource management, will conduct watershed research related to their master's degree programs and partner with local K-l2 teachers to incorporate a portion of their theses into the curriculum and share the research experience with the classroom.

Study topics will range from water quality issues to the impact of climate change to modifications of the riparian habitat. Participating schools will come from the Ellensburg, Yakima, Cle Elum/Roslyn and Mt. Adams (Yakama Nation) districts. All are in the Yakima River watershed.

"We are very excited about bringing authentic research into classrooms and infusing local relevance to the study of science," says Dr. Beth Pratt-Sitaula, WATERS co-investigator and CWU earth science education professor.

Those interested in applying for the Yakima WATERS graduate fellow program can find information online at www.cwu.edu/~waters.

Contact: Dr. Carey Gazis, 509-963-2820 or cgazis@geology.cwu.edu