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Wetlab’s Phaedra Harmening and Gerry Miller recently spoke at a Cub Scout’s Overland District’s Club Scout Day Camp on Saturday, June 14 in Elko County.
Over 150 Cub Scouts visited Wetlab’s Botany Bay, one of nine stations that included archery, armor making, dragon training, knights in space and tournament sparring. At the Botany Bay station, Harmening and Miller gave each scout a pencil and notepad for notes, and worked with the Scouts on ecological concepts.
One question they posed was, “if Elko County’s population is 50,000, with four zeros, how many zeros are in the current world population of seven billion?”
Harmening and Miller likened the Scouts and their parents to members of a species they called “Overland District Scouts,” who, at the end of the day, would all go back to their individual ecosystem niches, using the analogy to explain the introduction of algae, bacteria, dragons and works into ecosystems.
The two Wetlab volunteers discussed the water cycle, how nature abhors a vacuum, and the place of the top three cereal crops – rice, wheat and corn – as they are used to feed the world.
At the end of the day, when the Scout camp came to an end, the Future Knights of the Round Table gave the loudest round of applause to the scientists from Wetlab.
Each year, Galena High School hosts a Career Fair for its sophomore students. The goal of the career fair is to expose students to the possibilities and realities of a successful career path. Sophomores are invited because 10th grade is often the point at which they begin looking into colleges and potential career interests. Professionals from various backgrounds participate as speakers, teaching kids about their jobs including education, how they got to where they are, volunteer service, the importance of networking and more.
Starting the day early at Galena High School, our group set up displays. We had pamphlets with pictures of the lab, a beaker filled with concentrated beet juice and an Erlenmeyer flask with diluted beet juice to show a small portion of lab processes. Most importantly, we had the WETLAB mascot, a Labrador, with its personal protective gear on to demonstrate the importance of safety and to show that science can be fun. These items provided visuals for the kids and were used during our presentations. We engaged the students by asking questions about their own interests and discussing how there are many different and exciting careers in the scientific field.
The first groups of students did not have many questions, but had a genuine interest in a diverse range of careers in the scientific community. The later groups were more vocal and asked questions ranging from work hours, how often we dealt with the public and the amount of technology available to work with. We hope we sparked some interest and motivation in the children that are our future.
We presented to six groups of sophomore students for 20 minutes each. We talked about what WETLAB does and why our business is so important. Most students seemed fairly knowledgeable about water quality and the need for testing in Nevada, as well as locally here in the Truckee Basin. Each of us discussed our education and work history as well as provided suggestions for volunteering and networking. With different backgrounds and career paths, the students got to hear our individual perspectives and learn about the unique experiences that led us to our current careers. This helped to emphasize that there is more than one way to find an interesting and fulfilling career if you follow your passion. While we all had varying messages, the resonating theme was to stick with your studies, despite the challenges, because in the end, a career in science is very rewarding.
While it will be a few years before these kids enter the workforce, their desire for a career in science and the level of interest is encouraging. Our industry has a promising future if we continue to feed young minds and encourage them, teaching them how to deal with challenges and overcome obstacles to pursue what is important to them. Hopefully, networking in a more intimate setting plants the seed that will inspire them to grow toward their goals, prepare for higher education and gain crucial career experience.
We believe that no one in the world should go hungry. In order to do something about that as a company, we volunteer once per month at the the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. Our efforts help fuel the Food Bank’s mission to end hunger in the region through direct services, advocacy, outreach and education. Our entire office heads down to the Food Bank to support this effort.
We’re not afraid to roll up our sleeves and coordinate a team effort to separate and pack boxes that are distributed to the FBNN’s partner agencies that serve the needy, ill and elderly, as well as thousands of children. In one trip, we can pack and seal up to 500 boxes.
The Food Bank of Northern Nevada’s donations are delivered to a number of local outlets and programs, including emergency food pantries and senior meal programs, low-income day care centers, drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, family and domestic violence shelters and various youth programs. Those organizations offer bags of groceries, meals or snacks to those in need. The Food Bank of Northern Nevada’s service area is more than 90,000 square miles. We are incredibly proud to support their efforts and help our community stay nourished and healthy.
Snapshot Day isn’t a WETLAB photo shoot. It’s an annual Lake Tahoe Basin and Truckee River Watershed citizen-monitoring event. Launched back in 2000, Snapshot Day is designed to promote environmental education and stewardship while also collecting valuable water quality information. Snapshot Day takes place at locations throughout the Lake Tahoe and Truckee River Watersheds.
During Snapshot Day, we work with students and other volunteers to field-test streams, collect discrete water samples for nutrient analysis, and educate participants on protecting and improving the watershed in their own backyard. The data collected helps provide a “snapshot” of water quality and stream conditions all throughout the region.
It’s truly a great opportunity to learn about your local watershed and get more involved in a great locally-driven environmental event. Snapshot Day is run by volunteers, but spearheaded by the Tahoe-Truckee Clean Water team and sponsored by local environmental and water-focused agencies, including WETLAB. Our participation as a sponsor and team dates back to 2009 and we’re proud to support the program and its commitment to protecting the watershed in our community.
We want to encourage kids to explore and discover using science and experimentation. That’s why for the past two years our WETLAB team in Elko, headed by Andrew Porter, has volunteered to run a science-oriented station for Eastern Nevada Cub Scout troops at Spring Creek High School.
Andrew grew up as a curious Cub Scout and is still involved with the Boy Scouts as the highest ranking Eagle Scout. In addition, several of the Elko employees have little ones in the Scout programs.
This year, he participated in the annual Boy Scouts day camp. With over 100 scouts from around Eastern Nevada, Andrew conducted fingerprinting with the kids for the CSI-themed day. It was a rewarding experience, allowing Andy and WETLAB to not only volunteer with the scouts, but pass on a love of science and get kids excited about it.
It was a pleasure to take our love for man’s best friend and use it to get some exercise while supporting an organization so close to our hearts, The Nevada Humane Society. In May 2013, several WETLAB team members approached Michelle about participating in the two-mile Walk for Animals.
We raised $1,268 before the event and Michelle was happy to match that amount as a gift from WETLAB. The walk took place at the Sparks Marina and we all brought our leashed friends to participate in the walk and other pet-friendly activities. The money we raised went to serve the more than 10,000 homeless animals in the area!
Following our mantra that no one should ever go hungry, we began volunteering at the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission. Once per month, the WETLAB team dishes up breakfast for the women and children that come to Mission and helps put together more than 1,000 meals to help improve the lives of those in need. With more than 50 years of serving the Reno-Sparks communities, the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission is a model organization that demonstrates a never-ending dedication to helping others. In total, the Gospel Mission has served nearly 8 million meals to homeless individuals and families.
Since the start of 2013, when the WETLAB team made a decision to support the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission, we’ve had a chance to bond as professionals over hot meals that reach the hands and mouths of those less fortunate than us. It is our pleasure to continue serving meals and supporting the efforts of the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission.
2012 Snapshot Day – Getting a Complete Water Quality Picture of Reno/Tahoe
Reno Tahoe residents, want to roll up your sleeves and do something about water quality in our region? The 8th annual Water Quality Snapshot Day needs volunteers Saturday, May 10.
This is a cause near and dear to our hearts here at Western Environmental Testing Laboratory – WETLAB, and we’ve worked as team leaders since the beginning. But you don’t need to be a water quality expert – you just need to care about our regions rivers, lakes and streams.
The idea is to get volunteers from all around Lake Tahoe and along the Truckee River to Pyramid Lake to take water quality samples in order to create a holistic picture of our region’s water. The event not only provides valuable data to area researchers on a large scale, but it’s also a great excuse to get outside and enjoy our region’s beautiful waterways!
All you have to do is meet for a brief orientation at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 10. Reno area volunteers will meet at Bartley Ranch Regional Park, 6000 Bartley Ranch Road.
Truckee area volunteers will meet at the Sagehen Field Station, about 10 miles north of Truckee on Highway 89 North.
North Lake Tahoe volunteers will meet at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, and South Lake Tahoe volunteers will meet at the Lake Tahoe Community College cafeteria.
Volunteers will be lead by trained group leaders, fanning out across our watershed to various locations on a variety of streams and tributaries, testing for dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH and temperature, also collecting water samples for laboratory analysis of nutrients, sediments and bacteria. All this data will give important insights into the health of our waterways. You’ll also learn interesting information about our watershed from your team leader.
To sign up as a volunteer, call Mary Kay Riedl at 775-687-9454 for Reno area, Beth Christman at 530-550-8760 for the Truckee area or Susie Kocher at 530-542-2571 for Lake Tahoe.
Map showing the Truckee River drainage basin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
