Infrastructure Capacity for Biology at the Nahant Marsh Educational Center

Eastern Iowa Community College, Davenport IA

Investigators

Abstract

Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) EICC is a public two-year community college district situated in Iowa along the Mississippi River that operates educational programming for the Nahant Marsh Educational Center, one of the last remaining urban wetlands on the Upper Mississippi River and a past EPA Superfund Site. Area colleges and universities conduct research year-round at the site that guide management practices and include water quality testing, turtle population monitoring, and avian population studies. The Nahant Marsh Educational Center is designed to expose students to research and engage them in a path toward a STEM career. After engaging students in research questions, the Nahant Marsh model involves the creation of opportunities for students to explore those questions in greater depth. Research activities will adhere to national educational standards (Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards) and can be embedded as part of regular classes while higher level research activities can be embedded as research opportunities in courses offered at area colleges. Funding will allow valuable research into understanding the marsh ecosystems, attracting more researchers, and training K-12 students and college students on how to use research tools related to environmental biology. This award provides funding for laboratory equipment that will allow for expanded research opportunities for area colleges and universities in water quality testing, turtle population monitoring, and avian population studies; attract more researchers; train K-12 students and college students on how to use research tools related to environmental biology; and prepare individuals to enter a STEM field/workforce. Support for research equipment and related supplies at the Nahant Marsh Educational Center will allow for traditional laboratory activities to be replaced by inquiry-based activities that expose students to contemporary research methods. Students and teachers at all grade levels will be engaged directly in data collection and analysis. Students will research opportunities as part of a course, a degree program, or as part of a summer experience. Additional equipment will allow students and researchers to be able to better understand the marsh ecosystems and attract more researchers, and train K-12 and college students on how to use research tools related to environmental biology. This grant also allows Quad City community residents, students of all ages and particularly URM students, educators and researchers the opportunity to participate in STEM research. Participating in hands-on research will increase the entrance and persistence of students into STEM fields and broaden the participation of URM students in STEM fields. The participation of educators from all grade levels will leave a legacy of faculty who have gained skills and commitment to mentoring students and developing inquiry-based STEM pedagogy that will impact the success of students. Research conducted at Nahant Marsh utilizing equipment funded through this proposal will add to the broader U.S. environmental biology science community. For more information visit https://nahantmarsh.org/. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.