The Flathead Watershed Sourcebook: A Collaboration for Education 2015 Clark Fork Symposium Lori S. Curtis Science & Education Director, Whitefish Lake Institute Author, Flathead Watershed Sourcebook Associate Supervisor, Flathead Conservation District

Collaborative Effort for Education "IN THE END, WE WILL CONSERVE ONLY WHAT WE LOVE, WE WILL LOVE ONLY WHAT WE UNDERSTAND, AND WE WILL UNDERSTAND ONLY WHAT WE ARE TAUGHT“ - BABA DIOUM AN ENVIRONMENTALIST WHO IN 1968 IN NEW DELHI, INDIA, SAID THIS IN HIS SPEECH TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE Environment for Collaboration Background Goals & Objectives Funding Process Deliverables Project Management 49th Parallel US/Canadian Border on Waterton Lake

Environment for Collaboration Increasingly complicated ecological issues Diverse management approaches Increasingly complex political environment More concern over control/less over actual issues Duplicity in conservation organizations Many NGOs working on the same or similar projects & pulling funding from the same sources Decreasing program funding Fewer grant programs/dollars spread across a greater number of projects and program

Collaborators Flathead CORE Watershed Education Committee Flathead Audubon Flathead Basin Commission Flathead Conservation District Flathead Lakers Flathead National Forest Sustainability Fund Whitefish Lake Institute Author/Project Manager/GMC Thesis Student Watershed Perspective Contributors (50) Reviewers (60)

Goals Long Term Communicate a “voice” for the watershed using local, diverse, & lasting stories Increase awareness and appreciation of natural, historical & cultural resources of the Flathead Convey watershed level interconnectedness Engage the watershed stewards of the future

Objectives Sourcebook & Curriculum Resource for educators, students & citizens Approachable science Historical significance Cultural diversity Communicate in Watershed terms Develop Curriculum (middle school to start)

Objectives Implementation Educators: Essential resource for developing learning tools by formal and non-formal resource educators Residents: Place-based information about the Flathead that communicates the importance of caring for its natural resources Realtors +: Introduction to new residents of the area to learn about their new home.

Funding Defining Expenses Research & writing: In-kind ($30K) Research materials ($500) Web-related expenses ($2K) Cost of book layout ($2.5K) Cost of printing ($15K) Total ~$50K

Funding Writing Grants & Creating Partnerships F. H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Flathead Audubon Flathead Basin Commission Flathead Conservation District Flathead County River Commission Flathead Lakers Flathead National Forest, Flathead County Resource Advisory Committee Glacier Association Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Northwest Regional RC&D River Design Group The Sustainability Fund Trout Unlimited Whitefish Lake Institute Individuals

Process Telling the Story What is a Watershed Natural History Cultural History Water Influences Our Land & Bounty Economics Partners in Place

Process Developing a Voice Through Contributed Content Over 50 Watershed Perspectives Individually contributed vignettes Content Contributions Special sections, charts, photos Reviewers Subject experts

Process Review Process

Deliverables Initial Book Website www.flatheadwatershed.org CD

Deliverables Curriculum Development Develop Curriculum to accompany the Sourcebook Easy for teachers to implement Addresses key conservation issues through Help teachers meet current teaching standards Increase students numerical level of proficiency while introducing them to conservation concepts through diverse exercises and activities

What’s Next Ongoing Collaboration Curriculum Development Project (w/MSU Curriculum Development Guru, Michael Brody) Educators, Resource Managers, and Scientists to define what needs to be taught in conservation education Phase I: Delphi Consensus Survey (completed 2014) Phase II: Draft Lesson and Activity Plan (under way) Phase III: Workshops to Field Test Lessons Phase IV: Design and Produce Curriculum Guide Phase V: Disseminate, Implement & Evaluate Guide

Summary Sourcebook would not likely have been possible for any one organization to accomplish A collaboration of worldviews & local perspectives Provided a product that bridged science, resource management and education Allowed for a creative and useful master’s thesis I was offered a position at Whitefish Lake Institute

Thank You! Lori Curtis Science & Education Director Whitefish Lake Institute lori@whitefishlake.org www.flatheadwatershed.org