Mapping Water Stories Summer Academy Comes to an End

Lace Fields, The Ada News, Okla.
·3 min read

Jun. 10—This past week, East Central University hosted its first Mapping Water Stories Summer Academy. The five-day summer academy was meant to teach Oklahoma students about water from a scientific, environmental and cultural perspective. Students stayed on campus and participated in many different activities related to water and water testing.

Out of the 35 available spots for the academy, 30 students came from all over the state to learn more about the importance of water. Director Holly Jones and Assistant Director Shirley Mixon of the academy have supervised the kids all week, as well as attended the field trips with the students. Sadly, Friday was the last day of the students' educational vacation however there is a possibility that the summer academy could come back next year.

Monday marked the first day of the Mapping Water Stories Summer Academy. This was not only a new experience for the kids attending but also for the Director and Assistant Director of the academy too. "I've taught archaeological field schools for years but I've never taught this type of program," Director Jones said about her experience with the subject,

"I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out." Jones is the assistant professor of archeology and cultural resource management here at ECU while Assistant Director Mixon is the director of the interdisciplinary studies program. Despite this not being something that they would normally teach, they were both approached by Christine Pappas at ECU and were given the opportunity to run the academy.

"We wanted to combine my expertise in Geographic Information System mapping with Dr. Pappas' interest and involvement with the Oka' Institute and water," Jones explained, "the two go together very well." Dr. Pappas was the one who found out about the program and applied for the grant to fund it. Luckily, they received the grant and were able to host the academy this year.

The students had a full schedule already planned for them when they arrived at the dorms. On there first day they were led on a nature walk at Wintersmith Lake where they got to test the water around the area. The next day was dedicated to showing the cultural impact of water where the students studied Chickasaw stories. Wednesday and Thursday were spent on field trips around the area.

The students went to the Chickasaw Cultural Center and Little Niagara in Sulphur as well as the Environment Protection Agency labs here in Ada. On their last day the students had one final lesson on groundwater and an awards ceremony before sending them back home, hopefully with a newfound love of environmental science.

Many of the kids enjoyed their time at the Mapping Water Stories Academy. Jones stated that she felt the students were having a great time with the planned activities. Renia Wilson was a one of the students and said her favorite activity was swimming at Little Niagara. Wilson is actually from Oklahoma City and found out about this program from a friend who joined with her. All in all, both the staff supervising the academy and the students had fun learning about water and environmental science behind it.

Jones and Mixon both agree that the summer academy went really well, however there is no guarantee that ECU could host it again next summer. Not only would they have to reapply for the grant but also Jones would not be able to run the program next year. While the future of the summer academy is uncertain, Mixon said that if they could do it again it would still be teaching students about water.