TBD

Dr. Larry Stevens demonstrates the proper use of the Solar Pathfinder to workshop participants. Photo by Molly Joyce.

SSI leads multi-day Springs Inventory and Assessment Workshops. These workshops are split into multi-day schedules that include classroom sessions followed by practical application in the field.

Research collaborator, Dr. Abe Springer, describes the 12=springs types to the class at the Durango 2015 "Springs Assessment and Climate Adaptation Workshop."

In the classroom

The first day of SSI workshops consists of a classroom session that breaks down SSI's research, protocols, and monitoring methods. Participants will learn from experienced staff:

  • the importance of springs and their role in the ecosystem

  • the 12-springs types

  • the intricate network of springs-dependent-species (SDS)

  • inventory protocols developed by SSI

  • management and monitoring techniques

  • and much more.

In the field

Each afternoon, participants will go to a local, nearby spring to utilize their new skills. With instruction from SSI staff, they are given the opportunity to have hands-on experience surveying a spring using each level of the SSI Springs Inventory Protocol (SIP):

  • using GPS equipment to record georeference and access directions

  • drawing a sketchmap of the site and identifying its microhabitats

  • using a solar pathfinder to measure the site's solar radiation budget

  • measuring water quality and flow using a variety of different methods

  • collecting, observing, and recording invertebrates and vertebrates (terrestrial and aquatic) at the site using various methods

  • collecting and recording flora found at the site

  • data management

  • restoration planning

  • and much more.