BSP: Newsletter 98:2:p16 Air Quality: How to implement Learners' Guide 2

How to implement Learners' Guide 2:
How to implement "Working for Better Air Quality in the Baltic Region" into every day school work? This question has been put to all teachers participating in two international teacher training courses made within the BSP framework in 1998: One course in Borlänge in Sweden on April 25th-27th with app. 50 teachers from all nine riparian countries, another course in Ustron and Cracow in Poland on October 24th - 27th for app 30 BSP teachers from eight countries. In both courses the Air Quality programme co-ordinator Birgitta Berggren and her Swedish students taught teachers the methods presented in the book, and needle loss and lichen studies were made in the forest. Active participants delivered constructive inputs along with excellent lectures made by resource people to update and supplement teachers' background knowledge.
Fig. 1. Students Erika Hagegård and Anders Annikas teaching teachers
Sweden in April, 1998 Foresters from the Swedish company STORA presented "the outdoor classroom" and the necessity of forest protection to keep bio-diversity in Sweden with rare species occurring in the virgin parts of the forest. As this happened on an extremely wet day, the wonderful Swedish forest atmosphere was created by hot coffee on open fire to revive cold fingers.
Fig. 2 Course participants walking in the heavy spring rain from harvested to virgin Swedish forest
Valuable discussions took place among the international teachers on methodology, on the difficulty in making conclusions, and suggestions for additional investigations. One suggestion was using moss balls for studies of heavy metals; another to co-operate with local industries which might have the equipment to do the analysing -e.g. on sulphur in pine needles. Other teachers told of experiences on ozone reactions on leaves, and of radioactivity investigations.
Fig. 3 Fruticose lichen (Usnea) hanging beautifully from a branch in Swedish virgin forest
These excellent ideas were put forward for each individual teacher to adapt or for networking purposes between schools in different countries.
Fig. 4 Forest atmosphere in the Swedish forest: Hot coffee on open fire...
Poland in October 1998 In Poland the teacher training course took place in the Silesian District, an area of heavy industries due to the presence of coal mines, and air pollution has been a long known consequence. The forest in the Beskidy mountains was used as outdoor classroom for introduction to the methodology on needle loss and lichen studies. The needle loss in fir trees showed air quality II, and fear shoots were demonstrated as a stress symptom as well. The needles showed dots and discolouring at the age of 2-3 years. Along with demonstrating methodology in "Learners' Guide 2" in the Beskidy mountains one perspective of the teachers training course was to see the effects upon our cultural heritage.
Swedish student Erika Hagegård demonstrates fear shoot and needle damage in a fir tree.
This perspective was wonderfully demonstrated on a walk of the old town of Cracow. In Learners' Guide 2 on page 39 there is a photo showing the extremely damaged statue of King Sigismund . But he has been restored in the last year and is back in good-looking shape with a reconstructed face, body, garment and equipment (sword and sceptre).
King Sigismund in Cracow - back to handsome forms after restoration. (Compare with photo on page 39 in Learners Guide 2 "Working for Better Air Quality in the Baltic Region")
"Air quality has improved in Cracow", teacher Anna Figiel says, "and a new species of lichen even occurs on the city trees". This is a wonderful example of bio-indicators used to show changes -here positive changes- in an area.
These fir trees in the Beskidy Mountains, Poland show a needle loss of 40-60 % = Class II
The elaboration of a video to supplement the "Learners Guide II, Working for better Air Quality in the Baltic region" took its starting point in Poland with Bengt Littorin , Sweden in charge. The work will be continued in Sweden and the video will be forwarded to all BSP schools after finalising.
'Contracts' One of the very positive results of the teachers training courses has been teachers signing "contracts" for further co-operation in teams of two-three schools. Teachers introduced their works during presentations and in Poland contracts were made not only on the Air Quality programme but on new ideas such as: Radioactivity in different food stuff (milk, berries and fishes) - a co-operation to be started between schools in Finland, Estonia and Poland Mankind's Relationship with Nature through native values -an idea for a networking issue fostered by participating teachers from Kaliningrad, Russia with wide acceptance. The idea is that pupils through legends, interviewing elderly people on traditions should introduce native values in environmental education, and hopefully arrange international student summer camps Plants and City -investigation of city trees from top, trunk and roots also was a Russian suggestion which interested teachers from most countries. Britta Wennerstrøm, Jakobsberg Gymnasium, Mälarvägen 2, S-17542 Järfälla, Sweden reports after her return home: "I measured pH in the soil to be 3.5. I used 4 g of air dried soil, added 20 mL of destilled water, and after two hours measured pH(H2 O) using an electrode. Later I shall determine the concentration of AL 3+, and Nitrogen and perhaps some useful metal ions"
	Birthe Zimmermann