Enewsletter articles for USA-Australia Virtual Environmental Partnership

USAUS-H2O virtual environmental partnership officially launched

water samplingThe intent of the USAUS-H2O program is to educate and inform responsible stewardship of water resources between U.S. and Australian student teams through an interactive-virtual partnership. This program is funded by the U.S. Department of State as part of the Global Connections and Exchange Program. It was officially launched on World Water Day, 22 March 2013 in Canberra, Australia by Peter Garrett, the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood, and Youth, and the U.S. Ambassador, Jeffrey Bleich. The program relies heavily on virtual tools to share data, photos, and stories regarding the water cycle and guides student from the 16 schools through a series of modules. It will be fun to watch as it gets populated with student data, photos, and videos and finally their collaborative H2O Stories pages.

IAN 'Down Under': Darwin-IAN collaboration, USAUS-H2O virtual environmental partnership and Riversymposium 2014

Australian teachers in the USAUS H2O projectHeath Kelsey, Simon Costanzo, Jane Thomas, Bill Dennison, and Judy O'Neil traveled to Darwin, Canberra, and Brisbane, Australia in September to initiate the Darwin–IAN collaboration with Charles Darwin University, hold a teacher workshop for Phase 2 of the USAUS–H2O virtual environmental partnership at the Australian National University in Canberra, and attend the 17th Annual International Riversymposium at the National Convention Centre in Canberra. The USAUS–H2O teacher workshop included teachers from each of Australia's six states and two territories. Heath, Simon, and Judy presented electronic posters and Jane Thomas and Bill Dennison gave presentations at the Riversymposium. Heath Kelsey traveled to Darwin to set up an extended stay in 2015.

USAUS H20 U.S. Teacher Workshop 2015

Group picture at the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

IAN completed its second teacher-training workshop for the USAUS-H2O project in Annapolis, MD. This exciting project aims to educate and inform responsible stewardship of water resources between U.S. and Australian students through an interactive virtual partnership. Teachers from eight schools from around the U.S. are partners in the project including: Mendocino High School (California), Holy Rosary High School (Louisiana), Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child (New Jersey), The Barrie School (Maryland), The Benjamin School (Florida), Zionsville Community High School (Indiana), Cleveland High School (Oregon), and Boothbay Region High School (Maine). The two day workshop included familiarization with the virtual platform that teachers and students will use throughout the project, an introduction to science communication, and a visit to the Australian Embassy in Washington D.C. We are so excited to have such a wonderful group of enthusiastic U.S. teachers on board to work with their counterparts in Australia in educating students about their local urban water cycles. The USAUS-H2O project is jointly funded by the Australian Department of Education and Training and the U.S. Department of State.

Blog & Video Highlights

Video

  • Eric Davidson's Science for Citizen seminar, titled Global, National & Local Trends of Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Agriculture, is now available on IAN's website or YouTube.

Blog