CENTREVILLE, MD (May 16, 2013)—This Friday, students from Queen Anne’s County High School will kick off a two-year environmental science project that spans the globe. The Eastern Shore high school is one of eight schools in the country that will be working with a sister school in Australia to learn about the sustainability of local water cycles as part of the U.S.-Australia Virtual Environmental Partnership, a U.S. State Department program designed to promote science education and raise awareness of environmental issues.
Project leader Dr. Judy O’Neil of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science will join AP Biology and Environmental Science teacher Gretchen Mann and her students to take water quality measurements along the Chester River at Camp Pecometh.
"Protecting our water sources and waterways is an incredibly important issue for students everywhere," said Judy O'Neil. "Getting kids involved in their local water issues--and hooked on science and sustainability--is key for promoting informed citizens, future scientists, and this generation of future decision makers."
The U.S.-Australia Virtual Environmental Partnership will link teams of secondary school students in Australia and the United States in an online collaborative program designed to promote science education and raise student awareness and knowledge of common environmental issues. Entitled “How Sustainable is Your Water Cycle,” the program will be administered by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in Cambridge, Maryland, and Charles Darwin University in Australia.
This program is funded by the U.S. Department of State as part of the Global Connections and Exchange Program. The Principal Investigator for the project is Dr. Judy O’Neil, Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. In addition, Drs. Cindy Heil from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Maine, Simon Costanzo, Adrian Jones and Bill Dennison from the Integration and Application Network are actively contributing to the project. Professor Andrew Campbell from Charles Darwin University is coordinating the Australian component of the effort.
More information on the U.S.-Australia Virtual Environmental Partnership can be found here: http://www.usaus-h2o.org/.
Contact UMCES Director of Public Relations Amy Pelsinsky at 410-330-1389 or apelsinsky@umces.edu if you are interested in attending.
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science unleashes the power of science to transform the way society understands and manages the environment. By conducting cutting-edge research into today's most pressing environmental problems and training the next generation of environmental scientists, we are developing new ideas to help guide our state, nation, and world toward a more sustainable future. From the mountains to the sea, our five research centers include the Appalachian Laboratory in Frostburg, the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons, the Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge, the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore, and the Maryland Sea Grant College in College Park. www.umces.edu
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