Two articles were published in the Winter 2023 edition of The Earth Scientist, an online journal for secondary educators.  The articles focus on VCU’s three-year Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) grant, distributed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). VCU faculty, researchers and graduate students worked with primary teachers to create hands-on STEM learning experiences for students who attended participating schools.  Al Byers, Ph.D., retired assistant research professor, Elizabeth Edmondson, Ph.D., principal Investigator, VISTA ELIS at VCU teaching and learning, and Suzanne Kirk, assistant curriculum specialist at VCU School of Education; James Vonesh, Ph.D., professor at VCU Center for Environmental Studies; and Greg Garman, Ph.D., director of VCU Rice Rivers Center were collaborators.

"Partnering with VCU's School of Education on this NOAA-funded, K-12 initiative was a great opportunity to leverage the unique resources (people, facilities, habitats) that the Rice Rivers Center represents,” states Garman. “In spite of COVID-related challenges, the VCU team of faculty, staff, and students provided meaningful watershed experiences to significant numbers of public school pupils and their teachers during the three years of the program."  

The publications is subscription only, but granted us permission to share a PDF of The Earth Scientist articles: “Investigations in Environmental Science: The Role Bivalves Play in Sustaining Local Watershed” (Byers, Edmondson, Vonesh and Garman), and “Virtual Field Studies, Role-Play Experiences, and Simulations: The Role Bivalves Play in Sustaining Local Watershed Ecosystems” (Byers, Edmondson, Kirk, Vonesh and Garman).