geography Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Geospatial Professionals Raise Awareness About Their Field

Geospatial professionals gathered at the West Virginia Capitol on Wednesday to raise public awareness about their field.

Geospatial professionals from across West Virginia gathered at the Capitol today to teach the public about their field.

Geospatial science is colloquially known as the study of “where,” and examines geography trends. Plus, it can be applied across industries, according to Taryn Moser, state geographic information system (GIS) coordinator with the West Virginia Office of GIS Coordination.

“We are not just maps,” Moser explained. “We work in real estate. We work in banking and business. We work in the DNR. There’s a wide spectrum of disciplines here today, and a wide spectrum of geographic data within the state of West Virginia.”

Today’s displays showed how geospatial science helps professionals make informed decisions in fields like geology and meteorology. Meryl Friedrich, who works for the Division of Natural Resources, said it even helps identify regional trends in wildlife conservation.

“We’ve been doing a lot of citizen science surveys, where we allow the public to report any animals that they see,” Friedrich explained. “Specifically, box turtles, fireflies, hellbenders and mud puppies and river otters are the ones we’re looking at now.”

Friedrich said that the DNR uses geospatial science to analyze trends in citizen science reporting. “It’s really great to get the public involved in those projects,” she added.

Moser and Friedrich both said they hope today’s session helped West Virginians better understand the geospatial resources and opportunities available to them. To view some of these resources, residents can visit the Office of GIS Coordination website.

Large Interactive Map on Display at Concord University

Concord University is the latest destination for National Geographic’s Giant Traveling Map of Europe. The map will be on display for most of the week leading up to the 2015 West Virginia Geographic Bee.

Seventy students from across the state will compete this Friday in the state geographic bee at Concord’s Athens campus. The competition is for students in the fourth through eighth grades.

National Geographic developed the National Geographic Bee in 1989 in response to concern about the lack of geographic knowledge among young people in the United States.

The Geo Bee is designed to encourage teachers to include geography in their classrooms, to spark student interest in the subject and to increase public awareness about geography. National Geographic’s Giant Traveling Map of Europe is available for kids of all ages to embark on a mock tour of the world’s second smallest continent, while learning about its rich history and diverse geography.

The large interactive map will be on the Athens campus through this Thursday. The state Geography Bee will be held on the Athens campus of Concord University Friday, March 27. Winners of the state competition win the opportunity to represent West Virginia at the 27^th annual National Geographic Bee. That competition will be in Washington, D.C. in May.

To schedule a time to visit the map of Europe during its stop at Concord or for more information contact Poff at lpoff@concord.edu or 304-920-1212.

National Geographic, NOAA Grant Promotes Understanding of Watersheds

A grant is equipping West Virginia geography and science teachers with tools to help better educate young people about watersheds. For one teacher, the chemical spill that left more than 300-thousand without usable water was a wakeup call of just how important this program really is.

Cherri Mitchem can remember her childhood growing up in Southern West Virginia.

“You know, I grew up near streams that were not good, the ones that you could smell before you got there, and I remember that,” Mitchem said. “But it never occurred to me that there was a way to fix it.”

Mining activity has damaged streams and rivers throughout the coalfields of Appalachia. As a science teacher at Pikeview Middle School in Mercer County, Mitchem hopes to help her students have a better understanding of watersheds and how they affect what we drink.

“Yes, I think water, especially with our students, it’s just, it’s taken for granted,” Mitchem said. “They go to the tap to get water out, but it never occurs to them where it came from, how it got there, what steps have to be taken for them to be able to drink it, and what they do throughout the school day while they’re at school can impact that same water.

Mitchem realized she needed to do more after watching student’s reactions to the Elk River chemical spill that left 300,000 without access to usable water earlier this year. She says while students knew what was happening, they thought there was an ‘easy fix’ to the problem. It was this confusion that inspired her to explain the situation in a more practical, hands-on sense.

Thanks to the Chesapeake Bay Science and Geography Initiative, Mitchem received a grant from the National Geographic in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The money is available for water quality field tests to groups in states that that are in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. More than 150 rivers and streams flow into the bay’s drainage basin, which covers parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.

As an adjunct instructor at Concord, and grant administrator, Mitchem is preparing to share hands on teaching techniques with other West Virginia educators.

She says one of the ways to test the influence of watersheds is through teacher workshops.

“Part of the reason we’re taking the teachers outdoors is to give them a first-hand idea of what you can do with your students,” Mitchem says. “They can actually take the students to the streams, and we’ve also had a workshop of how they can bring the stream to their students.”

Mitchem says that while first-hand experience is ideal – she realizes some teachers are restrained due to a lack of money. “Some schools, some areas, some teachers simply aren’t able to take a field trip to a stream. It’s just not going to happen.” She continued, “we’ve given them lots of alternatives. Alternatives where they can just use backyard, bring the water in and do the testing.”

Robert Miller is a graduate student at Concord University. This past year, Miller along with other master’s program students collected water samples in Mercer County to study watersheds and test the alkalinity, pH and oxygen levels. Miller is also a 7^th grade teacher at Madison Middle School in Boone County.

Miller plans to take the methods back to his classroom.

“The lessons we’ll learn there, we’ll be able to take those back to some streams that are perhaps not so healthy and we’ll be able to make our connections there,” Miller says.

Joe Manzo is a professor at Concord University and co-coordinator with the West Virginia Geographic Alliance: a partnership between the college and K-12 schools. The geographic alliance is responsible for administering the funds from National Geographic. Manzo says the grant program helps the alliance promote better geography curriculum in West Virginia’s Public Schools.

“So our overall goal is more geography and better taught geography,” Manzo said. “And through the program, that are incorporated through the alliance, teachers have those kinds of opportunities.

Overall, 70 teachers applied for the grant money.

He's a One Man Wrecking Crew of Geography Knowledge

There’s a very important competition taking place in Washington D.C. next week. It’s the National Geographic Bee and West Virginia has a competitor who thinks he has the right stuff.

Andrew Christy is an 8^th Grader at St. Francis de Sales Central Catholic School, in Morgantown. He’s going to represent West Virginia, for THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW, at the National Geographic Bee. He came up short on his first two tries, but now, it’s his final chance to bring home 50 thousand dollars in college scholarships and bragging rights to the Mountain State.

“It feels really good; in sixth grade I was very nervous, in seventh grade, I was pretty nervous, but this year I think I know what’s going on,” said Christy.

“I know the drill. I’m still a little nervous, but not as nervous as I have been before.”

Like Spelling Bees, at a Geography Bee contestants must answer questions correctly to advance. But it’s a bit different in that every contestant will have to answer nine questions, and the best ten competitors get to make it to the finals. That usually means if you miss one of the nine, you’re probably out of the game.

And they aren’t easy questions, either. Listeners, let’s try one together. Here’s the question.

Caribbean Hindustani, a dialect of Hindi, is commonly spoken in an island country off the coast of Venezuela. Can you name the country?

The Answer is Trinidad and Tobago. That’ s a sample question of what might be asked in the bee. Andrew says the questions are tough: few are multiple choice, and while clues may be given, a contestant really has to know where to find them.

“Last year at nationals, there was a question about the Gulf of Fonseca, it’s between El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and I got it wrong,” Christy said.

“They won’t straight ask you what’s the capital of this country, or what river runs through this capital, they will word it differently and give you clues in the question. You can ask for them to repeat the question, or for them to spell a word.”

He may not have traveled to the Gulf of Fonseca, but he’s traveled a lot for a 13 year old young man, and he says traveling has helped him stay enthused about geography.

“I like western South America, because that’s where llamas live and I really like llamas. They are my favorite animal,” said Christy.

“We went on a cruise in Europe; we went to Italy, Greece, Croatia, and Turkey. I’ve been to the Bahamas, and I have been to Niagara Falls.”

To prepare for the challenge, Christy studies atlases and maps, and takes online quizzes. He says the most difficult part of the competition every year are the other competitors.

“Everyone is good because they had to win their state, and region. Everyone is good, they are all on the same level, or better than you,” he said.

But he loves the competition. Andrew will be attending Morgantown High School next year. He isn’t sure about his future plans, other than to attend college where he’s interested in studying science, or possibly architecture.

Andrew will be in Washington this weekend to compete in the National Geographic Bee. The top 10 finalists will compete in the final round, next Wednesday, moderated by journalist Soledad O’ Brien. It will air on television on the National Geographic Channel.