Sevilleta Schoolyard LTER and the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program
(BEMP): Partnering environmental education, ecosystem monitoring, and
stewardship of the Middle Rio Grande riparian forest
Kim D. Eichhorst1 and Kimi Scheerer2
1
BEMP Co-Director, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
2 BEMP Education Coordinator, Bosque School, 4000 Learning Rd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120
Participants
BEMP in the Field
Map of BEMP
Sites
Ohkay Owingeh
Santo Domingo
San Juan Chama
Drinking Water
Diversion Dam
Santa Ana
BEMP Mission Statement
Badger
Diversion
Alameda
Bobcat
Minnow
Calabacillas
Bosque Farms
Reynolds forest
Reynolds cleared
Los Lunas
The mission of the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) is collaborative
long-term ecological monitoring of key abiotic and biotic processes and characteristics
to promote continued education, understanding, and stewardship of the Middle Rio
Grande riparian ecosystem for scientists, teachers, students, policy makers and the
public.
Valencia cleared
Belen
Valencia forest
Crawford
Harrison
RGNC
Rt. 66
BioPark
NHCC
BEMP Annual Participation
Sevilleta
Lemitar
Mesilla Valley
Montaño
Savannah
Abstract
= BEMP site
The Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) is long-term
ecological research done by K-12 students and their teachers to
monitor key indicators of structural and functional change in the
Middle Rio Grande riparian forest, or “bosque”. Each year BEMP
involves ~ 1000 students in year-round data collection and lab
processing, and over 2000 students in 1-3 day field/lab sessions,
helping to increase their understanding and appreciation of science
and the ecosystem. Last year over 7000 people were involved in this
program, from Ohkay Owingeh pueblo to Mesilla Valley in the
south.
Figure 1. Map of BEMP sites along the Rio Grande, from north to south: Pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh,
Pueblo of Santo Domingo, Pueblo of Santa Ana, Bobcat, Badger, Minnow, Diversion, Calabacillas,
Alameda, Montaño, Savannah, Rio Grande Nature Center, Rt. 66, BioPark, National Hispanic Cultural
Center, Harrison, Bosque Farms, Los Lunas, Reynolds Forest, Reynolds Cleared, Valencia Cleared,
Belen, Valencia Forest, Crawford, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge-LTER, Lemitar and Mesilla Valley.
6000
2004-2005
5000
2005-2006
4000
2006-2007
3000
2007-2008
2000
1000
2008-2009
0
2009-2010
Figure 4: BEMP annual participation is broken into 7 main categories. Long term includes all students that
participate in monthly monitoring, short term are 1-3 day field/education sessions, summer programming,
wildlife specific activities, teacher and student trainings, those festivals and community events that BEMP
participates in and finally conferences in which BEMP data and/or activities are presented.
Preliminary BEMP Ethnicity Demographics
2008-2009 School Year
At each BEMP site, students collect shallow
groundwater aquifer data at 5 wells – north,
south, east , west & center.
At each BEMP site, students monitor
monthly precipitation levels in the open and
under heavy canopy.
Asian/Pacific Islander
2%
17%
3%
28%
Black (not of Hispanic
origin)
Caucasian/White (not of
Hispanic origin)
Hispanic
50%
American
Indian/Alaskan Native
Figure 5: A snapshot of demographics from the 2008-2009 school year illustrates BEMP’s strong
commitment to underserved communities.
BEMP in the Classroom
Figure 2. BEMP sites have similar 100 m x 200 m layouts with roughly north-south lengths paralleling
the nearby Rio Grande. Within each of the ten equally spaced units (A-J), are a randomly placed 30m
x 5m vegetation plot and litterfall tub. (Vegetation is measured along the southern 30 m transect and
fuel load on the northern transect.) There are five PVC shallow groundwater monitoring wells: north,
east, south and west wells are each 40 m from the center well. Twenty pitfall traps are used to
capture surface-active arthropods. There is one rain gauge under heavy canopy and one in the open.
BEMP Data Findings
• Sites with overbank flooding have high native plant diversity and
cover
• Clearing exotic trees without subsequent flooding most often leads
to increased exotic understory cover
• Post-fire sites that do not flood have increased exotic understory
cover
• Post-fire sites that do flood have high native plant diversity and
cover
→ dam construction
Minnow
→ river diversion
2004
2005
2006
2007
groundwater
river
2008
2009
2010
2011 2012
11
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3
5
7
9
11
1
3
5
7
9
11
1
3
6
8
10
12
2
4
6
8
10
12
2
4
6
8
10
12
2
4
6
8
10
12
2
4
6
8
10
12
2
4
6
8
10
12
2
4
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10
12
2
2002 2003
0
6000
5000
4000
100
3000
150
→
→
2000
→
200
250
→
→
→
→
1000
0
Figure 3. Depth to groundwater and river flow below Albuquerque’s San Juan-Chama
Drinking Water Project Diversion Dam. Red arrows indicate impacts of construction of
the dam and green arrows show impacts of river diversions on depth to groundwater.
River flow (cfs)
Depth to water (cm)
50
Students learn about New Mexico watersheds
and the impacts of storm events in our
StormWater Science classroom session.
2003-2004
Type of Event
Date
Students sort native and exotic leaf litter
biomass to determine changes in bosque
vegetation.
7000
2010-2011
Over 45 schools participate in the hands-on, inquiry-based,
standard linked science provided by BEMP in the field and in the
classroom/lab. BEMP provides assistance with teacher workshops
that focus on regional and national curriculum, continuing
education credit for current teachers, student trainings that can
lead to peer teaching and continually updates on-line resources
(including field-collected data). In addition, our education staff
provides and teaches nine different “in-the-classroom” education
sessions that help students and teachers link their fieldwork with
local flora, fauna, water issues, lab activities and historical activities
that affect the Rio Grande. At the end of the school year, students
are invited to attend a symposium-style “congress.” BEMP involves a
rich and diverse blend of Hispanic, Native American, and Anglo
cultures. BEMP schools are located in inner-city, suburban and
urban-rural interface areas, including three local pueblos. BEMP
students span all ages and economic groups.
Abiotic data collected and analyzed include groundwater, river and
ditch water level and quality; precipitation; and temperature. Biotic
data include plant productivity and cover; woody debris/fuel load;
cottonwood numbers, size and sex; and surface-active arthropod
activity. These data provide insight into the biological quality,
resilience, hydrologic connectivity, and effectiveness of land
management practices of 27 BEMP sites spanning 480 km of the Rio
Grande. There are over 15 years of data from the earliest
established sites. Included are post-fire recovery sites, wetlands,
sites bracketing Albuquerque’s drinking water diversion dam, sites
with landscape alteration or bank lowering, and sites cleared of
exotic vegetation used for measuring the effects of thinning on
groundwater and vegetation. University of New Mexico interns
(seniors and graduate students), site representatives, and
contracted experts provide quality control on BEMP data. BEMP
data are used by federal, state, and local agencies.
Each year, over 3000 K-12 students from 45 schools in seven counties and
over 60 university undergraduate and graduate interns are involved with
BEMP field data collections, either directly through their school or through
such institutions as the Rio Grande Nature Center and NM Museum of
Natural History. BEMP involves traditional public, charter, parochial,
private, and home school students. Preparatory teacher workshops are
held in the fall and a seminar-type student congress, during which students
make presentations on their sites and projects, is held at the end of the
school year.
Number of Participants
.
BEMP offers 9 different ‘in-the-classroom’ standards-linked education
sessions that highlight local plants, animals and water issues in the Middle
Rio Grande valley (see below). BEMP also encourages local schools to
participate in our one-day study trip option in which students get a school
day of hiking, environmental education activities, BEMP monitoring and a
river-side picnic lunch. Finally, BEMP offers a UNM Biology 408/508
course in which university seniors and graduates and/or continuing
education teachers learn about the local riparian ecology and
management and help students in the field with monthly monitoring.
7th-12th grade students come together at the end of the school year at a
BEMP congress to share their experiences and data after a year of
monitoring.
BEMP as a Model Program
The research protocol and monitoring layout designed by the
BEMP team serve as an excellent model for citizen science and
STEM-based (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)
education that can be done in most locations. BEMP is often
presented to teachers, administrators and agencies as a method
of collecting ecological data while utilizing volunteer community
members on their local landscape. As BEMP materials are
relatively low cost and easy to find, schools, nature centers and
other organizations can easily start their own research site to
monitor various components on their local landscape.
In the words of our BEMP teachers, “Why do you participate in
BEMP?”…
“It is hands on learning and takes advantage of local
resources.”
It’s “relevant to where we live and… is important to
understand our impact on the environment.” I also like
“work[ing] with the UNM staff and students.”
“It allows students to contribute to the adult world.”
I like the “real world problem solving exposure” and it
“sends the message that … [there is] a world of
opportunities.”
Data Users and Funders
Natural resource agency and university based researchers and
professionals consistently remark on the strength of BEMP’s
long-term and original datasets as being one of the program’s
greatest accomplishments. BEMP data are requested and used
by the US Army Corps of Engineers, US Bureau of Reclamation,
US Fish and Wildlife Service, Middle Rio Grande Conservancy
District, City of Albuquerque Open Space, NM Interstate Stream
Commission, Association of New Mexico Soil and Water
Conservation Districts, Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood
Control Authority, Stormwater Quality Team, and the University
of New Mexico Biology Department. Many of the agencies that
use BEMP data also fund BEMP. Some agencies fund the
collection and management of specific datasets at multiple sites
while others fund establishment and monitoring of specific
sites.