New Riparian Education Module

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov

January 7, 2009

In Reply Refer To:
1114 (172) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 01/26/2009
Information Bulletin No. 2009-036

To: All FOs, All WO-ADs
Attn: Education Coordinators

From: Division Chief, Education, Interpretation, and Partnerships

Subject: New Riparian Education Module

Enclosed for your information are three publications that comprise “Holding onto the GREEN Zone – A Youth Program for the Study and Stewardship of Community Riparian Areas.” This new riparian education module was produced by BLM in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin – Extension and the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. The module consists of:
· “Holding onto the GREEN Zone” Action Guide (Publication # EE 8007 B)
The Action Guide is intended for middle school-age students and can be used in both formal and non-formal settings. It features indoor activities, which help to illustrate riparian concepts and functions, as well as activities that can be undertaken during a field trip to a riparian area. During a field trip, students take on the roles of water ecologists, soil scientists, biologists, and physical geographers as they investigate various aspects of a local riparian area.
· “Holding onto the GREEN Zone” Leader Guide (Publication # EE 8007 A)
Intended for teachers and youth group leaders, the Leader Guide provides background information on riparian areas, outlines steps involved and materials needed for each unit, and includes curriculum correlations and suggested additional resources.
· “Riparian Areas: Nature’s Lifelines” poster (Publication # EE 8007 C)
The full-color poster features an aerial photograph of the San Pedro River along the Arizona-Mexico border and highlights the importance of riparian areas, especially in arid regions of the country.

Both the Student Guide and the Leader Guide are available for downloading at: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/res/Education_in_BLM/riparian_module.html
In addition, all three publications are available from BLM’s Printed Materials Distribution Service. BLM employees should place orders through the staff person in their office who is assigned to order forms and publications. Non-BLM employees can place orders by sending an email to blm_noc_pmds@blm.gov. Each order should include name, physical street address, and phone number, as well as the quantity of each publication requested (using the publication #’s identified above).

BLM’s Division of Education, Interpretation, and Partnerships is extremely grateful to members of the National Riparian Service Team for their content review and to members of BLM’s Publishing Staff for their graphic design work. In coming months, BLM will be partnering with several organizations to deliver teacher workshops on the riparian module. For more information on workshops and to suggest possible partners, please check the website mentioned above or contact Betsy Wooster, BLM’s Division of Education, Interpretation, and Partnerships (WO-172) at 202-452-7731; Elizabeth_wooster@blm.gov.

As always, we welcome your feedback and comments and hope that you find these publications useful in your riparian education efforts.

Signed by: Authenticated by:
Mary Tisdale Robert M. Williams
Division Chief Division of IRM Governance,WO-560
Education, Interpretation, and Partnerships