Participant Feedback

Crestomere Gr 7 class had a great day of learning and exploring our nearby lake. The Red Deer Watershed Alliance facilitated an excellent experience for us with the morning devoted to learning about how pollution moves through a watershed, and the afternoon spent filling our boots with algae, observing wildlife, and being thrilled about finding all kinds of crawlies and swimmies in our water! Oh yes, and collecting data too *smile*.

Marg Brookwell - Crestomere School

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My students found your kit very interesting, and the direct comparison with more technical sampling gear was very informative. I plan on continuing to use the kit in this lab in the future, as I feel it helps the College kids, who are training to become environmental technicians, a great opportunity to see how the general public can be involved in the monitoring of our aquatic resources. Again, I thank you for providing me with this kit, and hope that our data may also be of some interest/use to you.

Vee Gotceitas

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This was a great opportunity for our students to get hands-on experience with water quality in Calgary. The kits were well supplied and ensured that each student had a chance to participate. Besides being a school-based assignment, many of my students took kits home to share with their families. I heard many stories about my junior high students taking their little brothers and sisters, parents, and dogs for outdoor adventures to collect samples. We were fortunate enough to win one of the $400 prizes and this will go a long way towards enhancing the environmental sciences at our school. Thanks!

Greg Masterson - St. Jean Brebeuf Junior High School

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"I collected the sample from my beach front wearing rubber boots, shorts, a tank top and a hat. A variety of water fowl swam by oblivious to what I was doing. How much better can life be!"

"I had lots of left over supplies and didn't need another kit. Now I have one complete kit and still have supplies from 2006. Guess I'll be participating next year too!!!"

"Next year I will take my daughter out as I feel very comfortable in taking samples and reading the results."

"Thank you for the experience in learning about water more, I am an administrative support in an area that licences water use. Water quality is become more of a factor and it is good to know what issues are looked at."

"Thanks for awakening me and my family and reminding us to look to the future to protect and preserve or environment."

"I thought the whole program was great and can't wait until next year."

"We used the evening not only to test the water but also to do a pond study so it was a very fulfilling event."

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I loved the experience and found it exciting and really put me in touch and aware of the value of our water quality, and that we have to work hard to preserve and/or improve it. I hope to get others in my work and social circle involved and aware for next year. I thought perhaps a weekend excursion that allowed us to visit several bodies of water and make it a family and friend event on a more personal level.

Participant

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Awareness of watershed quality is developed through participation in this type of program.

Watershed Stewardship Group

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Thanks for the test kit, we include it as part of our summer fishing camp for 10-14 year old children. This outdoor experience creates additional environmental awareness combined with the fun of fishing. The parents and grandparents that stay in the campground and enrolled the children in the camp also enjoyed it.

Shane Hansen, Iron River Ranch

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When asked, AWQA Day participants said the highlight of the program for them was:

"It was so much fun to blend learning with laughter!"

"My son is in kindergarten so this was the first time that we had done such a formal and technical test. He loved it! My highlight was seeing his excitement over the whole thing."

"I learnt so much and then shared it with numerous other groups to increase awareness and impact."

"This program heightens my awareness of the importance of being good stewards with our water supplies."

"The girls loved the 'scientific' nature of the testing, and took it very seriously."

"Knowing that as individuals we can have a strong impact when we're part of a provincial team."

"Lakewatch survey on the same day - results from their donated composite sample correlated well with AWQA kit."

"Getting students to actively participate in a very worthwhile program - learn to be water stewards of the future."

"Becoming an 'environmental participant' instead of 'environmental talker'."

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There were some moments of real understanding regarding water care and how the quality affects so many aspects of our lives. The "light came on" for some of these kids who simply turn on the tap and expect quality.

Participant

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Amanda Kirkwood
Bow River, Calgary

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We did our water quality test at Pine Lake on June 2, 2007. It was a beautiful day and perfect conditions for a day on the water. Our beagle "Queenie" loves to go fishing with us but can't swim very well, so she willingly wears her little life jacket. She took great interest in the water quality tests!

John Taylor

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Hello from Medicine Hat.

Attatched are a few pictures from our June 30th excursion. This was a terrific way to spend a morning with my son and an awesome educational experience. Next year I will offer to work it into his grade one curriculum by planning a field trip with his class. You're never too young to start thinking about the health of our water.

My sincere thanks,
Kristine Dalzell.

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The kids really had a blast and enjoyed all the downloads which I provided them with all the cool facts, we will continue this as a class in grade 2 next year so that the older they get the more complex the testing, language and understanding can be. They should be water experts by the time they get to grade 4! This is already their second year, we started in Kindergarten and have done it again in Grade 1.

Keep up the good work! The grade One teacher will continue the testing from this point on with all the new grade ones, as I move up with the kids.

Michelle Zenon

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Hi AWQA Day Team!

Thank you for providing a handful of testing kits for us at the Parkland Conservation Farm. We not only tested our own waterbodies at the farm but were able to test over 10 other sites with our registered grade 5 classes during on farm and outreach Wetland Education Programs.

Having the test kits really added to our wetland/water education programs. The kids loved getting involved and learned tons, as did the teachers and parents. I told many, many teachers about the test kits and AWQA day program. I really appreciate the new and improved data booklet this year. Keep up with all of the amazing facts!

Great job!

Pamela Gottselig

Outreach Coordinator/Instructor
Parkland Conservation Farm

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We went down to the Sunken Bridge to do our water testing. We had seen a dead beaver while we were kayaking and canoeing one day and decided to test the area to see how the water rated. The river is very high and the water had started flowing over the bridge. While doing our testing we met a fellow from the County who warned us not to swim on either side of the bridge due to dangers of being drowned because of the adaptations to the bridge to have it level with the road. This was really good to know as the water looked very tempting. From our testing we found out the water is in
good ranges to support a variety of wildlife. We had a lot of fun doing the testing and learned some new things. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of AWQA Day. This is our second year and my children really enjoy getting out and testing the river in our area and those where we go to camp.

Merry Pollard

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We spent a wonderful afternoon collecting and testing the water for AWQA Day. Our test site was on the shore of the Bow River, downstream of a bridge, on the north boarder of Fish Creek Provincial Park in Calgary. The sky was clear, and with a light wind, it was a popular location for people to fish, as well as float by on rafts. There were many birds in the area, and we saw gulls, geese with their goslings, and ducks both in the water and flying by. While waiting for DO tablets to dissolve, we enjoyed watching the bees collect nectar from the flowering bushes along the riverbank.

As a homeschool family with three students in grades 5-8, we appreciate the opportunity to participate in this program, and look forward to next year's water collections and testing. The information and activities on the Student Field Lab sheets were very helpful, and the students enjoyed applying their knowledge to the discussion questions.

Here are some photos from our AWQA test site.

Best regards,
Jennifer Brown
Calgary

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AWQA Day provided a great way to get the kids involved in appreciating our water resources.

The Tannant Family

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It was a real eye opener for my friends, family and co workers that the pH of a lake could be between 9 and 10 and still hold fish. We contacted Fish and Wildlife and found it wasn't too far off from the norm. We all really appreciated the opportunity to check the water of a local lake. We found many people are concerned about the condition of the lake and the wildlife associated with it.

MaryAnn Mochulski

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My friends and I went out to Elk Island National Park on June 22nd, we had such a fun time testing water. We will definitely do this again next year. What a great combination of laughter and learning. Our dog grabbed our rubber glove at one point and ripped off the finger! Thanks a lot for this great program!

Sincerely,

Marie Buoy

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My name is Ken Kure and am a Grade 8 Science Teacher at the Spruce View School. (within Chinooks Edge School Division). We are located about 45 minutes south west of Red Deer - a small rural K-12 school. As a class assignment I had all of my 25 grade 8 Science students submit awqa water testing results after they had tested a great number of streams and rivers in our area. I asked them to submit only one test per student even though most did a number of sites. I shared with them the fact that we were entering into a contest for some school science equipment as well as just providing data to you. All were very excited with this assignment and we spoke of it a great deal over the past couple of weeks as we worked our way through Chapter E - Fresh and Salt Water systems. We are all keeping our fingers crossed that we may get selected. We have a very small science budget and some additional equipment would be a great addition to our department.

This has been a very worthwhile project for our students as they develop skills in becoming good stewards of Alberta's precious water supplies - I certainly plan on doing more of this in the future with my science students.

 

Ken Kure

 

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I have attached a picture of our class performing water quality testing on June 07 at the Sturgeon river. We have 11 special needs high school students that participated. This was a great experience for them as we have discussed water in our science class and the importance of clean water to the environment. The kit was simple and easy for them to use and understand. This was a great experience for our class.

Thank-you.

Sincerely,

Thomas Holmes
Life Skills Instructor
Sturgeon Composite High School

2006 Participant Feedback 

Participants Rave about AWQA Day Experience!

Nearly 2,800 Albertans volunteered to sample water from local water bodies as part of the 2006 Alberta Water Quality Awareness Day program!

Here’s a quick look at why some of them are so keen to participate this year, too.

“We had a blast. We got in a boat and took samples from all over the lake. It got us talking about our lake, who’s using it and how. We’ve been coming out here for six years and have lived out here full-time for about a year. We know this lake is popular and we’d really like it to stay as beautiful as it is.”

John Reichert

Resident, Wizard Lake, near Calmar

“I think it’s a really useful educational tool. I have to conduct formal water tests for my job. These tests are easy to do and they give us a way to get children interested in their local water bodies. I hope to participate in Alberta Water Quality Awareness Day next year and to be able to include some local school kids in the program, too.”

Sarah Schumacher

Rural Extension Specialist, Wheatland County, Strathmore

“We learned about Alberta Water Quality Awareness Day from a display at the TELUS World of Science Centre (Calgary). My daughter and I tested water near our home in Tuscany (in north-west Calgary). It was a really good introduction to science and the tests were simple enough that she could figure out the ‘right answers’ on her own. The web site was really helpful, too.”

Dana Charlton, Parent, Calgary

“This is the second year I’ve made samples for Alberta Water Quality Awareness Day part of the wetland studies program we do with Grade 5 students. I’m in the field of environmental education and hands-on activities like this are a good way to get children involved in a deeper discussion of their environment and environmental stewardship.”

Dixie Colter

Visitor Services Specialist, Alberta Parks and Protected Areas, Lac La Biche

“We invited our employees and their families to sample water for AWQA Day as part of Albian’s Environment Week activities. This program first came to our attention at an Alberta Society of Professional Biologists’ Water Conference. I knew it would be a fun and educational exercise, promoting environmental awareness and understanding of water quality issues.. I was really impressed with the kits we received. They were simple to use, but effective. We definitely plan to do this again next year.”

Ainslie Campbell, Environment Specialist, Albian Sands Energy Inc., Fort McMurray

“We offer various outdoor education sessions for school groups from May to June and we were really pleased when we were sent extra kits so we could include water sampling in our environmental programs this year. This year, about 10 groups of students got to experience the sampling. It was a very good hands-on activity and we would do it again.”

Susann McGowan, Manager, Marketing and Special Projects, 4-H Foundation of Alberta, Westerose

 

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