Biodiversity and Biomonitoring
Tracks in the desert near Dubai, The United Arab Emirates
Photo: Lindsey Smith
Welcome to the Hiram College Biodiversity Initiative Home Page. The initiative was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to create the Center for the Study of Nature and Society at Hiram College. Find out more about the grant and the Center under Background . Check out the Resources section for materials that can demonstrate simple to complex biomonitoring efforts that help citizens to understand the relationship of organisms to their own specific environments and the importance of biodiversity. If you are an educator or someone in need of a science education teaching unit, check out the Modules section for ideas. The initiatives that were influenced by this program are outlined both by the classes offered and locations under the Initiatives section.
Silver Creek at the James H. Barrow Field Station
Photographer unknown
Our work on Biodiversity, Watersheds and Landscapes has been influenced and informed by the stellar work of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) in its on-going efforts since 1972 to improve the quality of the waters of Ohio through the establishment of protocols for biomonitoring of all wetlands and rivers in the state. Through the Ohio Environmental Education Fund (OEEF), we are developing a multimedia e-Learning training site for the Volunteer Monitoring Program of the OEPA. Additional work on biodiversity for the development of k-12 learning modules is funded by the Ohio Board of Regents. We have partnered with Kent State University's Faculty Professional Development Center and the University of Akron's College of Education in a Regents Academy entitled Igniting Streams of Learning in Science, to recruit high school students into careers in science education by developing curricular materials on biodiversity, watersheds and landscapes in local school districts of the Middle and Upper Cuyahoga River. We invite you to find about our work by exploring these pages.