Stream Scholars Summer Camp
ran from July 20-24, 2009.
The 7th Annual camp
was a week of new experiences for middle school students who enjoyed
hands-on exploration in stream ecology and conservation. The
Scholars became Certified WV Save Our Streams water monitors,
visited Washington D.C. for a Chesapeake Bay Foundation
research cruise, and camped on the Potomac River near where it meets
the Chesapeake Bay. Perhaps the most interesting experience was a
special tour of George Washington’s Birth Place National Monument.
The Scholars had an interesting look into the history of the Potomac
and how West Virginia has been connected to the Bay since colonial
times. They discussed George Washington’s visits to West Virginia
with Ranger Riji (Rick) Morawe and his staff. The Scholars learned
how Pope Creek, next to the Washington family’s farm, was 16’ deep
in George Washington’s youth and deep enough to provide anchorage
for sea going ships. Returning as an adult Washington was shocked
by how Pope Creek had filled in so much it was no longer suitable
for commercial traffic. President Washington wrote on how bad
farming practices cause erosion, lose fertile top soil, and cause
sedimentation. Today, Pope Creek is only 4’ deep. (Web story
coming soon).
5/27/09. CI's eSchool is a winner!
Last month we entered the Potomac Highlands Watershed School part
of our website in the
Adobe-TechSoup
Show Your Impact design contest, and we won the Environmental
Impact: Other Media category. Take a look at our entry and all the
other deserving winners at the
Show Your Impact website.
The contest organizers said:
Congratulations! Your project has been selected as a winner in the Adobe
Show Your Impact contest! We were truly
moved and inspired by the excellent work that you are doing and the
positive impact that you are having on the community you serve.
Environmental Forums Spring 2009.
The 2009 Stream Cleaner Environmental Forum ran from March 9 to April 10, 2009. Download a flyer
(75 KB PDF)
here.
Read more about the eForums
here.
December 2008 Newsletter (16 pages, available as
PDF download
only - 2.34 MB): focused on CI's education programs, with features
on Stream Scholars Summer Camp, PHLOW, Environmental Forums, with an
overview of the whole program. Also included were features on
the deer fence project and Famers as Producers of Clean Water.
December Appeal letter:
Dear Friend, It feels strange to write a
fundraising letter in such uncertain times, with everyone concerned
about the economy, and uneasy about the future. Cacapon Institute is
worried about the future too, but here’s a checklist of a few
things we are not uncertain about:
Read the letter.(pdf)
Donate.
November 9, 2008. Autumn Board of Director's meeting in
Washington DC. We did not have a fundraising event following the
meeting, as we have in recent years, due to the economic downturn in the
country. We did, however, have a small party celebrating the
election at the home of Paul Armington.
Environmental Forums Autumn 2008.
The Oh Deer! 2008eForum ran from
October 20 to November 26, 2008.
It is accessed by clicking on the
phone in the
High School. Participating
classes sought a consensus
approach
to deer population management that strikes an acceptable balance
between people, deer, and the environment.
*To help students visualize the problems caused by too many deer, we
created a short Flash
slide show about deer impacts on our
forested lands. Take a
look.
August 2008.
CI receives Virginia Environmental Endowment grant ($6,500) for eSchool
and related hands-on activities in Virginia.
August 2008. Cacapon
Institute (CI) receives $48,683
grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Chesapeake Bay
Small Watershed Grants Program. The project is titled: “Failure is Not
an Option: Investigating a Cost-Effective Approach to Reducing Deer
Damage in Reforestation Programs.” Read press release
here.
Learn more about project here.
July 2008. Stream Scholars Summer Camp 2008 was a
resounding success from the Cacapon to the Potomac to the Chesapeake Bay. Take a
look.
Read our
June fundraising letter.
June 2008. CI's Executive Director Neil delivers
talk on
deer-exclusion experiment at American Water Resources Association
2008 Riparian Summer Specialty Conference
May 2008. Spring Board of Director's meeting in Slanesville,
WV. Field trip to project sites, including a Natural Stream
Restoration and USDA-CREP Riparian Planting at WVU's experimental farm
in Wardensville, WV.
Environmental Forums Spring 2008.
Students from 10 schools in 3 states participated in the Spring 2008 SCE
Forum, and did a tremendous amount of thoughtful work seeking solutions
to the Bay watershed's problems. Their final consensus papers are
now posted. You can see the whole
thing in the
Environmental Forum
Archives.
SCE Forum students from Buffalo Gap High School (Staunton,
VA) did an
erosion control project at a nearby elementary school.
Students from Jefferson High School did a
tree
planting project around a constructed wetland. Other students
competed in a bumper sticker contest, which was won by
China Jones at
Rappahannock High School.
February 2008. Cacapon Institute receives
2-year NOAA-BWET grant ($90,0000) to: 1-
Enhance our online Potomac Highlands Watershed School to annually reach
1800 students throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed; 2- Use the power
of the web to communicate and share data and involve students in a
hands-on living laboratory program with students collaborating on
monitoring techniques and field experiences; 3- Form an advisory council
for Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEE);
and 4- Engage small, community-based watershed and conservation groups
in MWEE to bring additional flexibility and local financial help to
teachers.
November 2007. CI has three papers at VA-WV Water Resources
Symposium 2007 in Blacksburg, VA:
