Overview of BioEYES and Your Watershed: Your Backyard Programs.

1. Your Watershed,
Your Backyard:
A Chesapeake Watershed Education Program to
Encourage Stewardship in Students
A Project of BioEYES
&
The Carnegie Institution for Science
Baltimore
Susan Artes
Science Outreach Coordinator

2. BioEYES
Science Outreach Program
Steve Farber and Jamie Shuda developed BioEYES in 2001
The Mission of all
BioEYES projects:
• to foster enthusiasm
for science
• to promote interest in
biology-related fields
• a hands-on, student-
centered approach to
learning.
Photo courtesy of the
New York Times
July 29,2008

3. Why use Zebrafish?
1. Genes and organs similar to
humans
2. Larvae are optically clear
Adult females can lay many
eggs every week
3. Embryos develop very quickly
4. Cost effective
5. Not only good model for
humans, but also for small
watershed fish
6. Incredibly compelling for
students

4. Classic BioEYES Unit
• Five day hands-on program following
zebrafish development
• Students treated as scientists and are
responsible for all embryo care
• Culminating experience - seeing the
beating heart and circulatory system

5. Day 1:
Observing Adult Zebrafish
Living organisms:
• Capture attention
• Increase interest
• Engage imagination
•Increase ability to relate
to self
•Make lessons more
memorable

6. Day 2: Embryo Collection and
Observation
Yes! We have How many do
embryos! you count?

7. Here are the things they are
looking for
Vs.
Hatched
Unhatched
Microorganisms
Vs. Coleps
Brine shrimp
Healthy Dead
Vinegar eels

8. Day 3: Gills vs Lungs

9. Day 4: Cells and DNA
Lysosome
DNA
Mitochondria Nucleus

10. Day 5:
Seeing the Heartbeat!

11. Some Statistics -Since 2001 over 18,000
students have participated!
Philadelphia South Bend - Notre Dame
• Started in 2001 •Started 2007
• Over 15,000 students •Over 700 students and 28
teachers
• Over 200 teachers trained
• 3 new projects added
Baltimore
•Started in 2007 with 548
students and 22 teachers
•This year over 1600 students
and 33 teachers
•Next year without YWYB
projected over 2500 students
•With YWYB funded 3700
students and 66 teachers!

12. Teachers - Important Partners
• Teachers must attend training
• Teachers co-teach the unit
• After 3 years, teachers run the unit themselves
• Carnegie’s Science Outreach will supply all materials
• Carnegie Educator can add more teachers & students to the
program

13. BIOEYES NEWEST ADDITION:
Your Watershed, Your Backyard
• Education and awareness
while they are young
• 6th and 7th grades
• Hands-on, live organisms
• Stewardship
• Habitats, food chains, source
and non source pollution
• Information on local stream
projects
• Websites
• Watershed related science
careers

14. Water Collection &
Water Quality Testing
Field Trip
 Students will do on-
site water quality
testing
 Streams and rivers
near their school will
be selected prior to
classes
 Harbor water will be
Stony Run collected and tested

15. Stony Run
• Direct connection
street to stream
• Point and non-
point pollution
Oil on the grate
Oil in the stream

16. Pollution & Erosion
• Stony Run
• Flooding residue
• Storm drain
• Erosion control
attempt

17. Jones Falls
Flooding remains
Non-point
source
pollution
or ‘Run-off’
Dumping
The next level up
in the watershed

18. The Baltimore Inner Harbor
Point source
Boat oil, gasoline
Non-point source
Street run-off

19. Watershed Maps
Students learn about the
entire watershed

20. Going Local
Baltimore County and City
watersheds
Jones
Falls
Watershed
Students trace the flow of their
local stream, Stony Run.

21. Zebrafish as a model
• As before students
cross adults and raise
embryos
• Now emphasize
Chesapeake Watershed
Test 3 water samples
1. Control embryo medium
2. Local stream
3. Main watershed river

22. Day 2 Embryos!
Students
care for their
embryos
and collect
data
Cleaning
and
Counting embryos
for survival rate in
each water sample

23. Data Collection

24. ‘Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem
Explorer’
Food Web :
Learning the
relationships
between the
smallest
organisms
and the
largest

25. Effects of Pollution
Outreach Educator, Rob Vary,
explains harbor results
Two-headed embryo from the
Jones Falls, raised by students

26. Heartbeat!

27. STUDENTS Wrote Lab Reports
Here are some of their comments:

28. YOUR WATERSHED,
YOUR BACKYARD
 YWYB could reach 1,200
students and 30 teachers in
Second year 1,685
its first year
students, 30 returning
teachers and 10 new
teachers
Third year 2,174 students,
40 returning teachers and 10
new teachers
That’s over 5000 students in 3 years!

29. For more Information About
BioEYES
Your Watershed Your Backyard
Contact:
Susan Artes
Carnegie Science
Outreach
Coordinator
410-246-3004
Artes@ciwemb.edu