Environmental Health Partnership (EHP)
EHP 2003
The 2003 NIEHS Superfund Environmental Health Partnership (EHP) program took place Sunday, June 15 - Saturday, June 21, 2003. UF CPET was proud to host eighteen outstanding science teachers selected from across the state to partake in our intensive one-week program. They represented cities with Superfund sites, in need of community education and awareness.
Throughout the week, the teachers attended lectures to learn current research concepts and applications in environmental toxicology, participated in hands-on laboratory and field research, and developed leadership skills to become agents of change in the environmental health of their community. The EHP teachers return to their communities, having learned the most recent advances in science which, combined with their outstanding teaching talents, will bridge the research community with the general public.
Each teacher created an "Action Plan" describing a means to translate and transfer the Superfund/EHP experience to the classroom, school and community. The teachers will return to UF February 1-3, 2004, to share the school's results at the Florida Junior Science Engineering and Humanities Symposium (JSEHS). The implementation of the "Action Plan" will be evaluated at the end of this academic year.
View 2003 EHP participant Action Plans (pdf)
Sunday, June 15
Dr. Mary Jo Koroly gave an overview of the week as well as some of the other UF CPET programs.
Dr. Steve Roberts presented a lecture on the Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP) at UF.
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Things got started Sunday night with a few snacks. |
Monday, June 16
Risk Assessment
Dr. Steve Roberts and Dr. Hugo Ochoa, both faculty at UF, presented material on Human and Ecological Risk Assessment. Dr. Aaron Hilliard, from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, gave a ‘front line’ look at the cleanup of Superfund sites and the testing of areas around Jacksonville for contaminants such
as lead.
Blackworm lab
Using Lumbriculus variegatus, (California blackworms) the participants performed an experiment they can use in their classrooms to introduce toxicology. The blackworms were exposed to various concentrations of different toxicants and the results were recorded and shared with the group.
Ecotoxicology
Dr. Gross with the USGS and UF Fisheries gave an overview of the Ecotoxicology Program, part of the SBRP. The teachers rotated through laboratories and had ‘hands on’ opportunities to work with mussels, fish, alligators, and alligator eggs.
Best practice sharing
The teachers started Best Practice Sharing sessions in which each teacher presented a novel or successful classroom activity or approach.
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Tuesday, June 17
Environmental Field Day
Mr. Steve Everett, an Environmental Science teacher and Summer Program Assistant with UF CPET, led the teachers through North Central Florida’s water, from a creek, to a sink, to a spring. The teachers collected water, soil, and benthic samples at each location.
Water and Soil Testing
Dr. Charles Lawrence, a CPET instructor, presented the teachers with an environmental classroom projects manual and CD-ROM he developed, and demonstrated some of the experiments so they could easily be reproduced
at the schools. Using the samples they gathered during the day, the teachers were able to perform the experiments themselves. Ms. Leslie Leader, coordinator of the Alachua County Watershed Action Volunteers,
helped the teachers with the identification of the macroinvertebrates they collected during the day.
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Wednesday, June 18
Vitellogenin Laboratory
The teachers performed part one of a two-day experiment in biotechnology. Dr. Nancy Denslow’s laboratory staff and students led an experiment utilizing vitellogenin as a biomarker in Fat Head Minnows exposed to estrogenic compounds. Dr. Denslow’s graduate students presented research related to the experiment in short lectures and the undergraduate students discussed the concepts and techniques the teachers were learning.
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Thursday, June 19
Vitellogenin Laboratory
The teachers attended Dr. Sheldon Schuster’s lecture Biotechnology and Gene Therapy in conjunction with SSTP. The teachers completed the vitellogenin experiment by developing their Western blots and Comassie stained gels. Dr. Nancy Szabo presented a lecture about her research at the Analytical Toxicology Core Laboratory (ATCL) and the services the ATCL provides other scientists. Dr. Margaret James also spoke about the bioavailability of superfund chemicals and the research she is leading as part of the UF SBRP.
Bioremediation and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Angela Lindner and her graduate students introduced the teachers to bioremediation. The participants rotated through four lab stations, performing experiments they can use in their classrooms.
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Friday, June 20
Laboratory Rotations
The teachers participated in laboratory rotations through Urban Development and Wildlife Conservation with Dr. Mark Hostetler, Pathobiology with Dr. Dan Brown, Wildlife Forensics with Ms. Ginger Clark, Analytical Toxicology Core with Dr. Nancy Szabo, and Histology/Pathology with Dr. Holly Kolenda-Roberts. Three groups of 6-7 teachers spent two hours at each laboratory, engaged in ‘hands-on’ and ‘mind-on’ research activities. They were also
presented with different career-related applications of the research programs.
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Saturday, June 21
Action Plans
The teachers presented the Action Plans that they will implement in their classrooms. The results of their action plans will be presented to the SBRP scientists, students and teachers from across the state at the
Florida Junior Science, Engineering, and Humanities Symposium (JSEHS), hosted by UF CPET in February at UF. The participants also enjoyed a light lunch while visiting the UF CPET laboratory to view some of the
classroom experiments in their manuals prepared by Dr. Lawrence.
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A group picture of the 2003 EHP teachers. |
