Many grandparents and grandchildren say the best thing about Grandparents University is spending quality time together. Photo by WISCONSIN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Learning brings the generations together
REPORT CARD: Grandparents and grandchildren give Grandparents University an A. More than 95% of Grandparents University attendees say they would participate again.
Grandparents and their 7- to 14-year-old grandchildren learn together and earn "degrees" at Grandparents University, an award-winning annual conference co-hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Extension and the Wisconsin Alumni Association. Hands-on classes taught by UW faculty include art, astronomy, biotechnology, botany, drama, engineering, food science, limnology, physics and veterinary medicine. Grandparents and grandchildren also share dorm life.
Grandparents University 2005 is scheduled for July 21 and 22 on the UW-Madison campus. —Jo Futrell
For more information: www.uwalumni.com/grandparents; Senior Outreach Specialist Bonnie Geyer, (608) 265-9101, bonnie.geyer@ces.uwex.com
Youth volunteers protect Wisconsin's water quality
Youth help improve the quality of Wisconsin waterways by participating in the statewide Water Action Volunteers (WAV) program, a partnership between the University of Wisconsin-Extension and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
WAV citizen stream monitors serve a vital purpose, observing the health of their hometown streams and rivers. WAV cleanup projects began in 1990. Since 1997, 9,000-plus volunteers have covered more than 500 miles of the state's waterways, collecting more than 62.5 tons of trash.
Among the volunteers who monitor Wisconsin's rivers and streams are schoolchildren, scouts and 4-H club members, who collect water samples and look for insects and organisms that can signal a threat to water quality. In addition to stream monitoring, kids work on storm-drain stenciling and local river cleanups.
Storm-drain stenciling is important because storm drains carry pollutants such as oil, gasoline, soil, litter and yard chemicals directly to local waterways. This can cause beach closings, excessive aquatic plant growth or degraded water quality, which can harm fish and other aquatic organisms. —Jo Futrell
For more information: clean-water.uwex.edu/wav/index.html; WAV Coordinator Kris Stepenuck, (608) 265-3887, kris.stepenuck@ces.uwex.edu