Transcript West Nile Virus Monitoring as a Service

West Nile Virus Monitoring as
a Service-Learning Project
WSU/Island County 4-H
presented by Judy Feldman
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What is Service-Learning?
Service-learning uses current, local
issues to add meaning and relevance to
academic and life skills
Students not only learn specified skills
and topics, but they also contribute to
their community and thus build a
stronger connection to it.
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Original Design of WNV
Project
Elementary/middle school students would
survey standing water for the presence of
mosquitoes
High school students would establish sentinel
flocks of chickens for WNV testing
Participants would do public presentations on
WNV
Report of development and outcomes of
project would be provided to WSU
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Elementary and Middle School
Involvement
No monitoring of standing water was
done by elementary or middle school
students – while there were two
teachers that indicated an interest in the
project, the pieces never came together
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High School Involvement
A small group of alternative high school
students DID learn how to “dip” for larvae
(although they did not submit any samples for
this project).
They also learned how to trap mosquitoes
(and submitted two samples).
And they created a sentinel flock, which they
were only able to test once.
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Results of Samples
While the students’ trapping efforts did
confirm that vector species were in
existence in their sampling area…
Their testing of the sentinel flock did not
indicate that the West Nile Virus was
present.
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Experimental Design
“Student Driven” sometimes equals
confounding variables (but good
lessons in why thoughtful experimental
design is important!)
Summer sampling added challenge
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Presentations
Hands-on sampling element may have
been the most “fun,”
But the presentations that the students
gave to local middle school students
proved to be the most powerful
experience of the project
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Wiggles in the Road
A little thing called “avian flu”
Concerns about animals in the
classroom, specifically chickens
Challenge of finding lab to run the blood
tests and in getting appropriate
instructions to students and teacher for
blood draw procedure
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More Wiggles
Availability of dry ice on the island
Realities of “interdepartmental fund
transfers” and confusion about the
concept of “reimbursement”
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Project Partners
Island County/WSU 4-H Youth Development
Program - provided general organization of
the project
Don Zisette, teacher at Bayview High School
- provided classroom support of the project
Kathleen Parvin, Island County Health
Department - gave a presentation to H.S.
students on the basics of mosquitoes and
West Nile Virus.
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More Partners
Tom Gibbs, of the Washington State
Department of Health - provided background
info, encouragement, and resources
Jo Marie Brauner, Washington State
Department of Health - trained Bayview
Students to trap mosquitoes
Kevin Shoemaker, Benton County Mosquito
District #1- provided valuable info on sentinel
flocks
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And Obviously…
Tom Platt, with WSU Extension in
Lincoln County, made it possible for us
to begin this project in the first place!
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The Final Question…
Would We Do It Again?
YES! We learned so much this year,
and hope to build on the experience in
the coming year.
Controversy remains in Island County
about the real vs. perceived risks of
WNV as well as those associated with
mosquito control.
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