2013 Volunteer of the Year
Utah Water Watch is happy to announce the 2013 volunteer of the year:
Kristina Kaly
Kristina Kaly teaches 4th grade at Rose Park Elementary School in Salt Lake City,
Utah. Kristina and her students monitor a site on the Jordan River (JOR-06-S). They
monitored this site 11 times during 2013.
We asked Kristina some questions to share her insights.
Why did you decide to volunteer with UWW?
The reason why I decided to volunteer for UWW was because I wanted to get involved
with a grassroots organization that promotes water quality education and awareness.
UWW appealed to me because volunteers get to go into the field and collect authentic
aquatic monitoring data.
How has your class benefited from monitoring the Jordan River?
Collecting the water quality data has increased my students understanding of our local
watershed. The trips to the Jordan River have also increased students' observation,
interpretation, and questioning skills. Collecting data has been a successful tool
for engaging students in inquiry based science learning. My classroom scientific research
expeditions to the river have led to increasing awareness of the local river in their
neighborhood. I am hoping these experiences will lead to students being invested in
the preservation of Utah's aquatic resources.
What have you learned from monitoring the Jordan River?
Collecting the water quality data has increased my understanding of our local watershed.
Monitoring the Jordan River has helped me work towards my goal of teaching students
science in an outdoor setting.
What do you and your class enjoy most about volunteering with UWW?
Kristina asked her students and these were the top 5 reasons:
- Making a difference and learning more about how to protect the river.
- Being out in nature.
- Making observations about the changes in the environment from week to week, season to season.
- Gathering the data (especially the dissolved oxygen).
- Observing wildlife.
Congratulations Kristina and students!
