#04-130
May 26, 2004

Area teachers get ready for GSW-GYSTC river expedition

Educators to test water along the Flint in June 6-13 traveling workshop

AMERICUS--A group of Southwest Georgia teachers will soon embark on an expedition to better understand the Flint River. 

Eighteen educators who teach grades 4-12 in schools from Thomaston to Bainbridge are signed up for the third annual "Living Flint" expedition, sponsored by four Georgia Youth Science and Technology Centers (GYSTC) including the one at Georgia Southwestern State University and others located in Barnesville, Albany and Bainbridge. The teachers will spend June 6-13 traversing the Flint River, exploring ecosystems and investigating water quality. 

"Beginning at Sprewell Bluff in Upson County, teachers will travel along the 350-mile river on its path to the Apalachicola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico," said Lynn Larsen, director of the Chattahoochee-Flint GYSTC at GSW. "Along the route, they'll meet with working scientists, have the opportunity to sample and analyze tests in the field and in labs, and talk with legislators and government officials. The knowledge and skills gained will be used in building a unit of study for their classrooms." 

The workshop, funded by a Teacher Quality Education federal grant, is offered at no cost to the teachers, Larsen said. In addition to water quality kits, teachers will also get experience with handheld global positioning equipment and other hardware. 

Founded in 1989, Georgia Youth Science & Technology Centers, Inc. is a private, non-profit educational organization designed to increase interest and enthusiasm in science and the technologies, particularly among elementary and middle school teachers and students. GYSTC has established 14 regional centers across the state, which provide staff development workshops and programs for teachers as well as assemblies, activities and camps for students. The programs of each regional center are defined by local school system needs.

REPORTERS/EDITORS: 

Members of the media are invited to join any portion of the Flint River workshop in progress. Workshop coordinators may be contacted by cell phone at any point during the trip, so that rendezvous arrangements can be made...call Lynn Larsen at (229) 938-1580, Amanda Buice at (404) 725-8365 or Donna McGlincy at (229) 248-7147.

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