The Results are In!!!

At each Playa Festival students are given a Pre and Post assessment to help Ogallala Commons measure our effectiveness. The Pre-Assessment is given a day before the Playa Festival begins and the Post-Assessment is taken 2 to 10 days after the Festival. Both assessments consist of 10 TEKS based questions that relate to material covered during a Playa Festival. As you will see in the chart below, each school showed improvement!

Friona Playa Festival Evolves by Tonda Clark, 5th Grade Teacher Friona ISD

Friona Elementary just completed our best Playa Festival ever. The tradition continues. We are still moving forward and working to make each year more successful than the previous. With the help of the Education and Training classes from our High School and many partners we have improved and made it the best outdoor learning experience possible. This year we had a three day festival and it was great to see the student’s interacting with guest speakers, teachers and peers. The Playa Posse spent the first day of the festival in Nazareth at the outdoor Playa classroom. The students loved being outdoors. They loved learning about journaling, playa plants and animals, erosion, and more. Students loved the owls. What a great opportunity it is to see living things from nature. Thanks to Dr. Birkenfeld, Julie Boatright, Jim Steiert, Bill Johnson and Gail Barnes for making it a wonderful experience.
Students examine plants with TPWD Biologist Bill Johnson in Nazareth
The next two days were spent at Friona Community Center and Reeves Lake. The students were taught by high school education in training classes about the importance of Playa Lakes, playa habitats, and what we can do to save water. Activities created by high school students included all the curriculum areas and were connected to the fifth grade TEKS. Students used GPS units on a playa geocache, weighed and measured materials discovered in field investigations, and re-created nest from common playa inhabitants. Each student created a playa model with Randall clay and bird and plant specimens. They created nature vocabulary cards, measured the amount of water it takes to brush your teeth if you leave the water on, and created beautiful murals of the playas.
Friona 5th Graders (in red shirts) and high school education students (pink shirts) pose for a group photo at Reeves Lake in Friona
Friona elementary loves the playa experience and we have plans to inform the community about the importance of playas during our open house in March. Students want to share their new knowledge with others. It is an awesome thing to watch students past and present teaching others about our most valuable natural resources

Words from a Water Conservationist

Crystal Hogue is a water conservationist and is putting her best effort into informing and educating people about the importance of water and the necessity of conserving it. She had the opportunity to participate in a few Playa Festivals, and here is what she has written about her experience, along with some photos she has taken:

This past month, the UWCD Education Cooperative was able to help host and participate in three Playa Festivals. We were excited to have another opportunity to talk to 5th grade students in Meadow, Wellman-Union, Dawson, Denver City& Brownfield about the importance of conserving water. While water conservation was a key topic during the Festivals, other issues that were addressed helped play a key role in teaching our students the importance of preserving our playa lakes.

However, as I’m sure every 5th grader would agree my favorite part of the festivals were visiting a playa lake in person. What an experience it was for some of the students to leave the city pavement, to explore a playa in the pastures of West Texas. I enjoyed jumping in the mud with the Meadow students; catching frogs with the Brownfield group; and finding fossils in Denver City. The experiences we had will be something that our schools will not forget.

None of this could have been possible, without the hard working staff at the local NRCS& Texas AgriLife Extension offices, as well as Dr. Birkenfield and Julie Boatright, with Ogallala Commons. They spent countless hours preparing for our festivals, so our students could have the opportunity to learn outside of their classroom. It is amazing how much we can accomplish, when a community pulls together for a great cause.

Top: Student from Denver City, holding up a couple of Devil's Claws.
Middle: Students from Meadow, jumping in the mud and getting dirty.
Bottom: Students from Brownfield scoping out a playa.

Thanks Crystal for your input and your photos!

Playa Festival Educators

Playa Festivals would not be possible without the amazing folks who give their time and energy to making memorable presentations during Playa Festivals.

DAVID HAUKOS, PH.D.
David Haukos, Ph.D is a professor at Texas Tech University and a biologist for US Fish & Wildlife. At each Playa Festival Dr. Haukos presents two learning modules. The first is "Playa Overview" where Festival participants learn what playas are, what they do, and why they are important from this leading expert. Dr. Haukos also teaches "Playa Plants," a natural fit for the co-author of "Common Flora of the Playa Lakes."

GAIL BARNES & JASPER THE BARN OWL

Gail Barnes is the Educator for the South Plains Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and Nightwings, non-profits in Lubbock, Texas dedicated to rehabilitation of injured, orphaned, or ill wildlife. Gail is state and federally permitted to do programs with educational animals (wildlife that could not be released back into the wild). She is usually the highlight of Playa Festivals delighting the children with Jasper the Barn Owl, and several other raptors that travel with her.

JIM STIERT

To delight Playa Festival participants with duck calls and pseudo thunderstorms is author and waterfowler, Jim Stiert. Jim's presentation, titled "Playa Lakes Buffers & Waterfowl" illustrates challenges faced by playa wetlands and the ducks and geese that depend on playas for habitat.

DARRYL BIRKENFELD, PH.D
Not only is he the Executive Director of Ogallala Commons! Darryl Birkenfeld teaches students about an array of subjects, including soils, macro invertebrates, and amphibians. His presentations are filled with stories about his personal experiences on playas. Dr. Birkenfeld also assists in leading the field trip to a playa on Day 1 of each Playa Festival.

JULIE BOATRIGHT, MS
Julie Boatright is the Education Coordinator for Ogallala Commons. She teaches Bird Identification and Nature Journaling at Playa Festivals, as well as serving as a guide at each Playa field trip.


NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE
At each Playa Festival a representative from the county NRCS office assists in teaching and scouting out field trip locations. This is an important and vital role for Playa Festivals.


All photographs are by Crystal Hogue, Education and Public Relations for UWCD in West Texas.

World's First Playa Classroom Open!

On June 8, 2010, Ogallala Commons presented the first Playa Classroom to the world. The Playa Classroom is a place where students of all ages are invited to see, touch and experience a prairie wetland. It consists of a educational center with five interpretive panels, seating and teaching spaces as well as rainwater harvesting tanks and a small xeric garden. The jewel of the place is the 20 acre playa that sits right in front.
Paths are cut in the tall grasses, allowing groups to get a close up view of the rich biodiversity of the playa. Guided tours will be provided to classes that wish to visit and the entry fee is an affordable $1 per student.
The classroom is located in Nazareth, Texas. Click here to see it on google maps.

Also, check out the latest media about the classroom: (Click on links to see)

Sibley Nature Center - Article by Burr Williams

Hands-on outdoor lessons: Learning from playas - Article from Amarillo Globe-News


Enjoy these photographs of the classroom:




These are Black Neck Stilt Eggs

Conservation Education Day 2/17 Agenda

Conservation Education Day
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
EMS Building (109 3rd Street) Bovina, TX

Purpose:
•provide education about playa wetlands, their ecological services, and learning opportunities
•to educate participants about the link between playas and recharge of the Ogallala Aquifer
•to offer information about federal programs for playa conservation, as well as resources for grazing management techniques that can improve playa habitat

Agenda

8:30am Welcome & Introductory Exercise for Educators

9:00 Engaging students in outdoor learning through Playa Festivals
Darryl Birkenfeld, Ph.D., Director, Ogallala Commons, Nazareth, TX

9:25 High School Service Learning as a Playa Festival Component
Patsy Allen and FCCLA students, Friona High School

9:50 Science Learning Activities that Complement Playa Festivals
Laura Wilbanks, Science Teacher, Whiteface Elementary School

10:10 Break

10:25 Playa Outdoor Classrooms, Interns, & Summer Learning Opportunities
Julie Boatright, Ogallala Commons intern and grad student, heritage management,
Texas Tech University

10:40 Brainstorming and Feedback Session

11:am Lunch Education Session with Landowners & Educators

11:20 Playas…What do they do and Why they matter?
Jim Steiert, outdoor writer and author of Playas: Jewels of the Plains

11:45 Making the Ogallala Aquifer More Visible…Images of Saturated Thickness and
Depletion Rates
Kevin Mulligan, Department of Economic Geography, Texas Tech University

12:15pm Responding to the Challenge: Federal Programs
for Playa Conservation and Techniques for Grazing Management
Manuel De Leon, Wildlife Biologist, Natural Resources Conservation Service,
Lubbock

12:45pm Discussion and Survey

1:10pm Adjournment

Shared Learning

I think the greatest asset of the Conservation Education Days is the opportunity for shared learning between teachers, presenters, landowners, and interested individuals who attend. In every school where Playa Festivals are being conducted, innovative activities that relate to the water cycle and our shortgrass prairie environment are being created. Having an education day bring together a "learning group" to harvest those ideas and sow them amongst an even bigger audience of teachers. In addition, teachers get to hear presentations targeted to landowners, which give teachers a sense of resource conservation in the real world of agriculture. Conversely, landowners get to rub shoulders with educators, and see strong evidence that school students and their teachers care about playas, and wish to show support for the stewardship that landowners strive to practice. I hope this brief description motivates you to take the time and reserve a spot at our next Conservation Education Days in Tulia (Feb. 3rd) and Bovina (Feb. 17th).

Whiteface Conservation Education Day a Success

Thanks to all of you who attended the Conservation Education Day yesterday at Whiteface. Here are the link I promised all of you:

Cool Wetlands Map: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/wetlands/poster.html

Fun Wetlands Video:

http://www.mnn.com/local-reports/oklahoma/student-blog/video-oklahoma-wetlands

City of Lubbock Conservation Education Program:

http://water.ci.lubbock.tx.us/education/allEdu.aspx

Kevin Mulligan - Texas Tech University GIS Ogallala Maps
http://www.gis.ttu.edu/OgallalaAquiferMaps/

Conservation Education Days

2009 was a banner year for Playa Festivals and playa education! Over 1,300 5th graders in 18 schools were engaged in hands-on learning through 12 Festivals last year, as well as teachers, parents, and educators. Ogallala Commons (creator of Playa Festivals) and our partners at Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, and county Soil & Water Conservation Districts…are now gearing up to make 2010 even more successful.

Ogallala Commons and these same partners will conduct 3 Conservation Education Days in early 2010 that will occur on school days. Each of these training days will provide educators basic information about playas and Playa Festivals, as well as opportunities for teachers to share tools and activities that enhance the Festivals. In addition, for a two-hour lunch period, area landowners who own playas will be joining our session to learn with the educators. This interchange is important for three reasons: 1) it will allow landowners to see that there is interest in playa conservation in local schools, with a new generation of students, 2) it will allow teachers to meet landowners who might have an interest in playa conservation, and/or school visits to their playas, and 3) it will enable teachers to learn some pertinent information about the Ogallala Aquifer and natural resource conservation.

The three dates and locations for the Conservation Education Days (see attached agendas) are:
-Wednesday, January 13 at Whiteface Elementary Auditorium, Whiteface, TX
-Wednesday, February 3rd at Swisher Memorial Building, Tulia, TX
-Wednesday, February 17th at the EMS Building, Bovina, TX(These sessions will be conducted from 8:30am – 1:10pm…and are limited to 20 teachers/educators each)

(An additional training opportunity…with a substantial outdoor format…is the Playa Educator Summer Training on Wednesday, June 2nd in Nazareth, TX…at the Home Mercantile Building (limited to 30 teachers/educators)

I want to let all schools know that demand for Playa Festivals is very high…currently more than we can provide in the fall semester or even the short spring semester. So, any schools selected to host or participate in Playa Festivals will need to assure that their 5th Grade teachers complete a training session before the Festivals take place. Now, here is the good news: the trainings listed above are free of charge, they will be energizing, and those who complete any of these training workshops are eligible to receive 6 hours of GT continuing credit through Region 16 and 17.

I would suggest is that any school interested in a hosting or participating in Playa Festival , strategize to send a teacher (or maybe two) to each of the scheduled training sessions. Since each session is a bit different with varied presentations, having some of your teachers represented at all the training sessions increases the information and resources that can be brought back to teachers and schools.

Let me know if you have questions or suggestions, or if you need clarifications. The schedules for the three Conservation Education Days are attached to this email. Also, please contact me by January 7th to reserve a spot at the session at Whiteface Elementary Auditorium on Jan. 13th, or by Jan. 27th to reserve spots at the Conservation Education Days in Tulia and Bovina.

Best regards,

Darryl Birkenfeld, Ph.D.
Director, Ogallala Commons
P.O. Box 346
Nazareth, TX 79063
806-945-2255