Project Overview
Commodities
Practices
- Education and Training: mentoring
Abstract:
Project Summary
This project engaged one family—a youth participant and a parent participant—in applied aquaculture education, watershed stewardship, and natural resource literacy through hands-on learning, professional training, field investigations, and storytelling centered on the remarkable journeys of the Pacific Sockeye Salmon and the Loggerhead Sea Turtle. The project taught water quality, nutrient cycling, watershed relationships, fish biology, mentor species, habitat stewardship, and community resilience while connecting these topics to agriculture, aquaculture, conservation, and natural resource career exploration. George Washington Carver's Creation Awareness method of observing, investigating, experimenting, and applying knowledge before acting became an important educational approach throughout the project and complemented scientific inquiry and watershed stewardship.
The educational approach combined storytelling, mentor species, professional aquaculture education, the Purdue University Youth Aquaculture Educator Workshop curriculum, Yalia's Three-Tank Water Quality Witness, field investigations, watershed mapping, stewardship relationship mapping, reflective journaling, and place-based learning experiences. Educational experiences included Lakota Earthsong, Colorado field investigations at Roaring Judy Hatchery and Bellvue-Watson Hatchery, research related to the Great Salt Lake and Bonneville Cutthroat Trout, and participation in Lakota Spring Harvest Camp. Learning was documented through participant sketches, watershed and stewardship maps, field observations, discussions, project journals, educational products, and successful completion of professional aquaculture education certificates by both participants.
As the project progressed, the educational materials expanded beyond the original activities into the development of the Living Waters Stewardship Operating System (LWSOS), supported through La'SOuL's Living Waters Formation, LLC. The project produced watershed mapping tools, stewardship relationship maps, mentor species learning resources, and educational materials that integrate applied aquaculture education, water quality, watershed literacy, historical interpretation, and stewardship formation. The Miracle of the Quail at Montrose, Iowa, together with personal experience raising quail for eggs and meat, provided additional lessons in provision, self-reliance, food production, and community stewardship.
The project concluded that combining storytelling, scientific observation, professional training, mentor species, and place-based learning provides an engaging approach for teaching aquaculture, watershed stewardship, and natural resource literacy. As a result of the project, the youth participant completed professional aquaculture education, developed observation and mapping skills, and explored agriculture, aquaculture, and conservation pathways. The parent participant adopted and organized these educational experiences into the Living Waters Stewardship Operating System and certified La'SOuL's Living Waters Formation, LLC to support future educational and stewardship initiatives. The project also established educational resources that can be adapted for future learners, families, educators, and community partners.
Project objectives:
Empower one family through hands-on aquaponics skill-building, enabling them to design, monitor, and manage small-scale sustainable aquaculture systems focused on water quality, fish care, and nutrient cycling. Facilitate participation in the Aquaculture Challenge to foster teamwork, creativity, and technical skills, while encouraging personal storytelling and Lakota Earthsong connections to aquaculture and conservation. Highlight agriculture careers through mentorship with STEM professionals and leaders, especially for youth interested in agriculture, aquaculture, and conservation careers. Engage students in creating mock business plans emphasizing economic and resource conservation. Host community events to showcase student projects, inspiring local support for sustainable aquaculture and local food initiatives.
Project Objectives
The project sought to empower one family through applied aquaculture education, watershed stewardship, and hands-on learning experiences that strengthened understanding of water quality, fish biology, nutrient cycling, and aquatic ecosystems. The youth participant and parent participant explored professional aquaculture education, field investigations, mentor species, and watershed relationships while developing observation, mapping, and stewardship skills.
The project incorporated participation in the Purdue University Youth Aquaculture Educator Workshop, Yalia's Three-Tank Water Quality Witness, Lakota Earthsong, Colorado field investigations, Roaring Judy Hatchery, Bellvue-Watson Hatchery, Great Salt Lake research, and Lakota Spring Harvest Camp to increase knowledge of aquaculture, fisheries, watershed stewardship, and natural resource management while encouraging exploration of agriculture, aquaculture, conservation, and related career pathways.
Throughout the project, storytelling remained a central educational approach, connecting the miraculous journeys of the Pacific Sockeye Salmon and the Loggerhead Sea Turtle with George Washington Carver's Creation Awareness method, the Miracle of the Quail, mentor species, and watershed stewardship principles. These experiences expanded into the development of the Living Waters Stewardship Operating System (LWSOS), watershed mapping tools, stewardship relationship maps, mentor species learning resources, and educational materials supported through La'SOuL's Living Waters Formation, LLC, providing a foundation for future educational programming in applied aquaculture education, watershed literacy, and community stewardship.
