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Kellogg Schools Teacher Workshop

Kellogg, Idaho, 2019 Teacher's Air Quality Workshop


On August 29, 11 Kellogg School District teachers and administrators attended the West Silver Valley Environmental Education Program Teacher's Workshop. Dan Smith from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality told teachers about the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Targeted Air Shed Grant that supports the West Silver Valley Environmental Education Program. Dr. Tony Ward, University of Montana School of Public and Community Health Sciences department chair, provided a history and overview of the West Silver Valley Environmental Education Program. Brett Taylor, education coordinator for the University of Montana School of Public and Community Health Sciences , reviewed  air quality curriculum activities and demonstrated the use of available PM2.5 air quality monitors.

Brett Taylor demonstrates PM2.5 monitors.
The workshop concluded with a strategic planning session emphasizing increased student participation in the student research component of the West Silver Valley Environmental Education Program. Teachers discussed strategies for incorporating student air quality research into their curriculums and initiated plans where high school students would be available to mentor elementary and middle school students through their research projects. Teachers also discussed developing specific projects their students could work on in collaboration with their peers from New Zealand. They thought the I Wonder About Air Quality web site, https://sites.google.com/view/arrowtown-wonders-about-air/home, developed by Ayushi Kachhara from New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmosphere, would provide an excellent communication platform for Idaho and New Zealand students. The Second Annual West Silver Valley Air Quality Symposium, where students can present their air quality research findings, will be held on May 20, 2020.





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