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Hello Blue Thumbers! You may notice as you scroll through this month's issue of From the Water's Edge that a few things are new or look different. One of those being the next article, the 'Volunteer Spotlight'. Each month in 2025, a different volunteer will be highlighted in the e-newsletter. Be sure to read their responses to the questions to learn about their time with Blue Thumb! That said, don't be too surprised if you receive an email from me asking to highlight you in the future.
I would also like to encourage our Blue Thumb volunteers to submit articles for the e-newsletter. You can write about your stream, a water quality issue you are passionate about, or anything else you think would be a good fit. If this interests you, please email me your article(s). I look forward to reading and sharing your work!
Hunter Hodson
Blue Thumb Field Education Coordinator
 What inspired you to get involved with Blue Thumb?
Several things inspired me to get involved. I had been looking for ways to volunteer with something that made me feel like I was reciprocating to the earth for the many freely given gifts that support our very lives (like water, no?). There seem to be few such opportunities in Oklahoma but Blue Thumb is one of them, and I do some others, too. Another inspiration was Roberta Pailes, who passed on last year but who had been a mentor and friend to me for years; she had volunteered with Blue Thumb (among many other environmental causes) and in fact monitored the same site I now monitor. Another is Karen Chapman, from whom I inherited the site I monitor, and who still enthusiastically supports Bishop Creek in Norman and gets the word out about water at festivals and other gatherings.
What do you enjoy most about volunteering with Blue Thumb?
The most enjoyable part about volunteering is having another reason to be outside in another place to enjoy nature, while putting in the effort to caretake the earth. I get to witness the beauty of even the small, overlooked places. Occasionally while monitoring or picking up the endless supply of plastic and trash, I get to see or hear a belted kingfisher fly by heading upstream, find little skunk tracks in the creek bank, or see fish dart through the water or an aquatic insect move among the rocks. It's also quite enjoyable to interact with festival-goers and kids, interacting with them about our water and the life within it.
How long have you been with the program?
I've only been with the program for about a year and a half so far. It's pretty easy work and doable for me. Kim Shaw is very supportive and keeps us well supplied and in contact despite having a huge area of creeks and volunteers to cover herself.
Is there a memorable moment or lesson from your time with Blue Thumb that stands out?
I feel fortunate to have what seems like a relatively less polluted site than some of the other volunteers I've spoken with. Based on the visits we have with people at various fairs and events, the lessons of Native Peoples ("water is life!"), and the collective effort of all the various folks who try to keep our precious waters clean (including Blue Thumb), are invisible to many of the inhabitants of Norman and other parts of Oklahoma who've been taught to choose other priorities in their lives. Maybe some will change and choose to reciprocate the gifts of the Earth in their own manner, as I have. Care to join us?
Nick Czaplewski
Blue Thumb Volunteer
For inspiration for this month's articles, I turned to the December issue of our e-newsletter. We have a new editor, Hunter Hodson, a new BT staff member. I like Hunter’s writing but more than that I like his enthusiasm at being the primary person to get our e-newsletter put together and out to the volunteers and other friends of Blue Thumb. Turning to the December issue made me contemplative of the good work accomplished by Blue Thumb in 2024. The following is through my eyes – indeed this is not EVERYTHING accomplished!
- Data is making its way to the public! A whole group of environmental science students at Rogers State University took Blue Thumb data and that information was creatively made available via exhibits, Facebook pages, Instagram, QR codes, in-person activities, and more! One Blue Thumb volunteer took his stream data for nearly 20 years of effort and reported about it at the big Wilburton 2024 Fall Festival. Another volunteer requested a grant from Friends of Blue Thumb and created a great traveling exhibit – and it is traveling all around Delaware County.
- A whole new staff person has been added to the Blue Thumb team! Jack is our education coordinator with a major role in facilitating Project WET and Project WILD Workshops all over the state. Jack has also jumped in to help with education events that are often requested of us by conservation districts, schools, and sister agencies.
- Partnerships with cities resulted in three of the new Blue Thumb Stream Protection Trainings held in 2024, and even the Green Country Stormwater Alliance and the Central Oklahoma Storm Water Alliance offered this training. Then the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality requested the training. This means more cities are learning how to better treat the streams flowing through them.
- From time to time it happens that a pollution event is discovered on one of our Blue Thumb streams. This was the case with a sediment complaint in NE Oklahoma (due to a construction site) and with an issue of probable illegal dumping of a petroleum product in south central Oklahoma. Both of these issues resulted in contacts with the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. Were it not for watchful volunteers, these issues would not have been found.
- The Yard by Yard Community Resiliency Project has continued to grow and offer resources for “nature friendly” landscapes across Oklahoma. Locally sponsored through conservation districts, twenty-seven districts are now signed up, with more to soon follow.
These are a few of the things that readily come to mind as I watch 2024 wrap up. Currently we have just over 100 active volunteer sites. Thank you for being a voice for our streams in 2024.
What is Your Vision for the Oklahoma of 2025 and Beyond?
This fall, our fearless leader Rebecca presented information at each Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts Area Meetings. Blue Thumb and conservation districts work closely together to protect streams, and each autumn there are five area meetings held across the state. Rebecca led a visioning exercise that encouraged the conservation districts to consider what their very best efforts might look like, and she encouraged discussion to take place among the conservation district board members and their staff members to “envision” a path to this goal.
Do you have a vision for what your volunteer efforts can accomplish in 2025? Will you…
- Monitor your stream and submit the data?
- Participate in benthic macroinvertebrate collections?
- Remember to bring your test kit so that you can participate in quality assurance sessions?
Is it possible that your Blue Thumb efforts might include…
- Talking to your city council representative or county commissioner about your stream?
- Meeting the local high school science teacher and offering to talk to classes about your monitoring?
- Spending some extra time at your site picking up trash?
- Posting information on social media about your stream?
The ending of one year and the beginning of another tends to be times of reflection for many of us. As you move into 2025, please consider that you have the power to make a difference locally. Start with the vision that you are taking the steps necessary to help your stream!
Cheryl Cheadle
Blue Thumb Volunteer Coordinator
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Winter is very near, perhaps. At least January is here and then quickly followed by February. Who knows what the weather will bring us, especially here in Oklahoma. But, in general, January and February are pretty chilly and often wet. Take caution when you monitor these months. Be weather aware. Wait out any big snow/ice storm(s) that would impede your safety. If you feel safe to drive to your site, park, walk down to the creek water, collect your samples, then we do want you to monitor. Dress according to the weather: head gear, wear layers, outside layer be waterproof if it is wet weather, stay dry – especially for your hands. If you don’t want to invest in waterproof winter gloves, then I would suggest you get a pair of long dish gloves to at least keep your hands dry. Dry and cold hands are A LOT quicker/easier to warm up then wet and cold hands. If the stoppers to your oxygen bottles get frozen in place and you need to add DO #3 reagent, use body heat to thaw out the bottles so the stoppers can be removed. If your creek is frozen over, do your best to safely break the ice so you can fill your various sample bottles. If the ice is too thick where you usually measure for secchi depth, you can either skip this part and make a note in the comments or measure where you can break through the ice. If it's snowing, go out to your creek for a photo shoot and send us your photos. If you get a good snowy shot, you might be featured in a future Blue Thumb calendar. There might be more ‘winter weather’ tips but this is what I can think of right now.
End of a year, start of a new year, I'd like to highlight creek sites that have been monitored every month for a year. I am writing this on December 26th so I will start from November 2023 – November 2024. And no, even I didn’t make the cut as I missed two times of monitoring. If you feel you monitored every month from this time frame and are not listed, please let me know. If you are a new volunteer, started monitoring after November 2023, you have something to strive towards next year in 2025.
WELL DONE to the sites listed below!!!
- Beaty Creek
- Bishop Creek: Constitution
- Bishop Creek: Eastwoods Park
- Black Bear Creek
- Brush Creek: 460 Rd.
- Cat Creek: Claremore Christian
- Chisholm Creek: Western
- Crow Creek: Discovery Lab
- Little Deep Creek: Weatherford
- Mingo Tributary
- Nickel Creek: 91st St.
- Salt Fork of the Arkansas River
- Spring Creek: Rocky FordTurkey Creek
Kim Shaw
Blue Thumb QA Officer
Join us for dynamic and hands-on educator workshops that bring together Project WILD and Project Learning Tree (PLT) curricula to foster environmental literacy and stewardship in the next generation. These workshops are designed to empower educators with practical tools to connect students to the natural world through inquiry-based learning, critical thinking, and active exploration. By attending, you’ll help foster future generations of environmentally literate, compassionate, and engaged citizens.
Morning Session, 9 AM to Noon: Tailored for early childhood educators, this session will focus on interactive, age-appropriate activities that inspire wonder and curiosity about nature in children ages 3-6 from PLT's "Trees & Me" and WILD's "Growing Up WILD" curriculum resources. Learn how to integrate playful, sensory-based learning into your classroom to develop early environmental awareness.
Afternoon Session, 1 to 4 PM: Geared toward elementary educators (adults working with youth grades K-5), this session provides hands-on strategies and activities to meet learning standards in science, math, social studies, and english language arts ~ all while engaging students in environmental education utilizing PLT's "Explore Your Environment" and WILD's "Aquatic WILD" curricula. Discover how to integrate science, literacy, and creative problem-solving to nurture environmental responsibility and knowledge.
Participants will walk away with certificates for professional development hours, sets of both Project Learning Tree and Project WILD curriculum guides, and the hands-on, heads-on knowledge to integrate environmental education into your instruction right away.
Cost is $10 per session to cover costs of minor supplies.
Dates:
March 8th, The Gathering Place (2650 S John Williams Way E Tulsa, OK 74114) Register Here
March 29th, Oklahoma County OSU Extension Center (2500 NE 63rd St, Oklahoma City, OK 73111) Register Here
April 5th, Robbers Cave State Park (2300 Park Cabins Rd, Wilburton, OK 74578) Register Here
April 12th, Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge (32 Refuge Headquarters Rd, Indiahoma, OK 73552) Register Here
Jack Hilgert
Blue Thumb Environmental Education Coordinator
 The EE Expo is the state environmental conference bringing together educators, community leaders, and environmental advocates to discuss strategies for nature-based and outdoor learning. The 2025 OK EE Expo will be held on February 7 at the OKC Zoo. You can register for the expo here. Scholarships to attend the expo are available from OKAEE. Scholarship applications close on January 17. You can access the scholarship application here.
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Friends of Blue Thumb is ready and willing to assist Blue Thumb volunteers with education events and/or support for their stream monitoring through grants! We are accepting grant applications until February 14, 2025. If you are interested, please email Cheryl Cheadle to receive the grant application. To let you know a few things that FBT has funded in the past, please consider:
- Waders and/or winter gloves for school groups
- Exhibit materials
- Printing for brochures, flyers, or reports
- Carts/wagons to aid in litter collections
- Educational materials like thermometers, field guides, magnifying glasses, buckets, and trays
FBT is a small nonprofit organization that was formed primarily for the benefit of helping Blue Thumb volunteers effectively monitor and educate the public about protecting streams, rivers, and lakes. FBT does this primarily by providing small grants.
Remember that From the Water’s Edge is the primary method used by FBT to provide information to Blue Thumb volunteers, so keep your eyes on your e-newsletter. If you would like more information, please reach out to Board president, Terrie Becerra.
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- Did you know the world's longest-lived freshwater fish can be found in Oklahoma? Click here to learn more.
- Want to learn more about your watershed? Check out the EPA's How's My Waterway.
- Not sure where your stream flows to/from? Use Streamer from the USGS to trace your stream upstream or downstream.
- Did you know that there is a whole association for Citizen Scientists? You can become a member and learn more about it here!
- Don't forget about the "Stream Selfie," a project from the Izaak Walton League.
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