To help keep water clean and safe, Penn State Public Broadcasting launched Project Ripple in three central Pennsylvania school districts as part of its educational services.

Ripple focuses on water quality and pollution effects, such as acid mine drainage, and is committed to making a difference in the Chesapeake water system and beyond.

Made possible by a $12,000 grant from the National Center for Outreach, the goal of Ripple is to use broadcasts to address water issues by partnering with high schools and watershed groups to give students a better understanding of their impact on water quality and by holding community forums at the partnering high schools to continue the conversation within the community.

"The purpose of the grant was to foster community involvement in an issue of local importance through the use of public broadcasting programs," said Jessica Peters, program specialist in PSPB's Educational Services unit. "For our project, we chose to focus on the 'ripple effect' of local actions on the environment having a global impact."

She added, "It was great to partner with local high school teachers and their students. It is important for these students to have a hands-on approach to their area's water quality because they are the stakeholders in this project -- today's local actions on our waterways will have a direct impact on this generation."

Ripple's website provides videos of environmental experts and relevant classroom projects. Related broadcasts linked on the site with lesson plans include:

· "Water: An Endangered Resource," a WPSU-produced documentary about acid mine drainage in Pennsylvania;

· "NOVA: The Storm That Drowned a City," NOVA's look at Hurricane Katrina and how the problem was compounded by urban sprawl and poor infrastructure; and

· "Jean-Michel Cousteau, Ocean Adventure: Voyage to Kure," Cousteau's trip to the Kure Atoll, an unpopulated island in the Pacific Ocean polluted by trash thrown into the ocean.

Three regional high schools (St. John Neumann Regional Academy in Williamsport, Central High School in Martinsburg and Bucktail High School in Renovo) watched these broadcasts, then paired with a local conservation group to do a community service project focusing on restoring local waterways. The schools then presented their findings in a community forum.

"The Ripple project has been a multi-learning experience for students," said Linda Lightner, a communications/gifted support teacher at Central High School. "Besides learning about conservation of the Chesapeake Watershed, they learned about the life cycles of brown and brook trout, they learned to network with a variety of community members, and they learned to collaborate with other students."

Students at Central chose the Trout in the Classroom project as a way to focus on the importance of a healthy environment, and they plan to continue raising fish next year.

Lightner sought extra funds for the Ripple program not only so students could participate in the Trout in the Classroom project, but as she said, "The program was originally instituted as an enrichment activity for gifted students; however, I want to offer such an exciting learning opportunity to all students."

Mike Makufka, executive director at Juniata Clean Water Partnership said he hopes for a stronger second year with more community involvement. "I think the program worked well for the students and I can see benefits in helping teachers meet state environmental standards. Since Ripple was tied into other school functions, I am not sure the public was totally in step with it."

Ripple partner schools include: ClearWater Conservancy of Central Pennsylvania Inc. and State College Area High School, Juniata Clean Water Partnership and Central High School, Kettle Creek Watershed Association and Bucktail High School, and Loyalsock Creek Watershed and St. John Neumann Regional Academy.

Video stories of the classroom projects of Central High School and St. John Neumann Regional Academy are available at Ripple Project website along with more information about the schools, the broadcasts and the Ripple project.

8/17/2007