A new youth curriculum kit that helps young people think deeply about the land we live on was distributed this summer to 4-H clubs, libraries, summer camps and youth-serving organizations across Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota. The Land Use Explorers kit is an outreach product of a National Science Foundation-funded effort called WAFERx: the Water-Agriculture- Food-Energy-Research Nexus. The researchers on the project are based at Montana State University (MSU), University of South Dakota and University of Wyoming. They are looking at how changes in land use, particularly the growth of a system called Bio-energy and Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), would result in transformations in agriculture, land use, and energy production systems. These transformations can create corresponding trade-offs among food, water, energy, biodiversity and economic opportunities.

The research weaves in everything from leaf-level intercellular carbon dioxide to songbird metabolism, to computer modeling of switchgrass yields. Researchers on the team created the Land Use Explorers Kit to share their work with even the youngest citizens of the Upper Missouri River Basin.

The project features 11 kid-friendly lessons on water, soil, food production and more. It was conceived in 2020 as an educator-led kit. However, when schools and youth organizations closed down due to COVID-19, the program was revamped to accommodate independent, remote learning. The resulting kit features all the supplies needed for a young person to complete the curriculum on their own, all contained in its own zippered pouch. Five hundred kits were disseminated in Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota during Summer 2021, including to Extension offices in Blaine, Dawson, Fergus, Lake, Liberty and Valley Counties, and the Flathead Reservation.

According to one Montana educator who used the kits, the students learned “that we share the land with other humans, plants, animals, insects, and other organisms and we need to take care of it. There are lots of different ways to use land and while other people may value different uses, we all need to come together to make sure that we are valuing and honoring the land appropriately.”

Another educator added: “Students learn the importance of observation and that they can be ‘scientists’ too.”

The kit’s concluding lesson is on citizen science: a process in which everyday people — including youth, adults and families — collect and share observations with scientists in order to accelerate research and discovery. Data submitted by citizens can often have a positive impact on their local communities. For instance, photos of land cover submitted through the free GLOBE Observer app help scientists create better satellite-based maps, which can be used to assess disaster risk and monitor change over time.

“We hope that as young people examine how land use intersects with their personal values, they are learning the skills of community leaders and engaged citizens who can consider multiple perspectives and relevant trade-offs when tackling the complex land use issues of the future,” said Suzi Taylor, director of the MSU Science Math Resource Center, which led the Land Use Explorers outreach effort. Rose Vallor in the MSU Department of Education is the curriculum author.

The first round of 500 kits have been disseminated; however, you can download the curriculum content plus a supply list and leader instructions for free at https://waferx.montana.edu/land-use-explorers.html

The team is exploring additional funding sources and hopes to develop more kits in the near future.

Learn more about the WAFERx research and BECCS (Bio-energy and Carbon Capture and Storage) at waferx.montana.edu.

Contact Suzi Taylor at [email protected]or (406) 994-2336.

 

Suzi Taylor is the director of the MSU Science Math Resource Center.