Proposal - Non-school aligned GLOBE sites

(v.12/19/95)

I seek GLOBE's general support and feedback to extend GLOBE observations
outside the traditional school setting and to encourage schools to develop
collaborative research sites.  The following plan will be implemented on a
trial basis to evaluate program compatibility, data quality and
costs/benefits.  There is a strong bias here for SE Arizona since we want
to develop a demonstration region and support remote sensing work in the
San Pedro Basin.


Purpose: Pilot/Develop non-school aligned GLOBE study sites that will:

- better sample our natural environment,
- better support air and satellite sensor validation/calibration,
- encourage regional collaborations among GLOBE schools,
- expose a wider cross-section of the public to the goals and
methods of the GLOBE program.

Background:

Many schools already take field trips to a wide variety of sites with
varying educational and/or environmental attributes/services.  Can the
GLOBE program tap into these excursions to what can be very special
locations and add to the students appreciation/knowledge of that site?
I think we should try.  Heres how:

Implementation:

Work with local schools to pilot the following non-traditional GLOBE
observation sites:

Non-aligned sites, such as environmental interpretation centers or science
parks might welcome the opportunity to integrate a few GLOBE measurements
into their standard or enhanced student tour. An interpreter with some
(probably limited to distance learning video) GLOBE training would be
required to put the measurement in context, help the students record their
observations and tell them how to access the GLOBE visualization/database
web site for follow-up investigations.

Shared sites, such as local parks or recreation areas might be adopted
as a collaborative research project by multiple schools or a large district.
The reason being that any one school would not be able to visit the site
often enough to monitor it effectively but together, monthly to seasonal
observations are expected.  It makes sense to have a site ID that is shared
by several schools (this will also avoid turf battles).  A GLOBE-trained
teacher can easily supervise this activity.

Evaluation:

The two accompanying proposals have evaluation requirements built-in.
Basically we expect to work closely with all parties involved to tune
and improve these activities on a semester basis.

Possible Implementation Characteristics:

Non-aligned Sites -
           - primary mission is educational outreach
           - daily to seasonal observation frequency
           - greatest emphasis on lowest skill measurements
           - does not require direct supervision by GLOBE-trained educator
           - skill level assumed low
           - assume that interpretive services ate available on site
           - requires school/program commitment for interpretive docs and
           data ingest
	   - requires site commitment for computer, equipment and training

Shared Sites - 
           - primary mission is scientific data collection
           - wk/mo/seasonal observation frequency
           - greatest emphasis on slowly varying measurements
           - requires direct supervision by GLOBE-trained educator
           - skill level assumed high
           - responsibility rotated or held by lead school
           - opportunity to introduce drum recorder tech.
           - includes both highly developed and undeveloped sites


Required infrastructure -
           - GLOBEpal network: site-school matching to oversee data quality
           - enhanced metadata: info on site char. and obs. conditions
           - site ID vs. school ID


Advantages:
           - wider geographic/geomorphic distribution
           - emphasizes natural and unique environments
           - facilitates daily/year-round data collection
           - gets schools into the scientist's study area
           - tremendous potential for public exposure/support

Disadvantages:
           - QC suffers from variable expertise
           - diffuses responsibility
           - measurements limited; frequency irregular
           - requires some program re-engineering
           - too promotional ???


Proposed pilot sites in SE Arizona:				Type:

Tucson School District Cooper Environ. Ctr., Tucson Mts.	Shared
Various satellite validation sites in San Pedro Basin		Shared*
Biosphere 2, Oracle, AZ						Non-aligned*
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum					Non-aligned

* funds to support this acctivity is detailed by accompanying documents


Possible sites in SE Arizona:

Tucson Botanic gardens
Discovery Park, Safford
Colossal Caverns

State Recreation Areas
           - Sabino Canyon
           - Catalina Park
           - Leymann Caves

State Conservation Areas
           - San Pedro Riparian Area
           - Cienega Ck. Conservation Ctr.
           - Nature Conservancy sites

State Agricultural Extension Sites
           - Safford
           - Tucson
           - Maricopa
           - Gilbert Pond?


Sincerely,



Jim Washburne
Asst. Research Scientist
Dept. Hydrology and Water Resources
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ  85721