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Fish School Workshop

Project Goal

We can raise awareness and change behavior among groups that may be seriously impacted by improper preparation and overconsumption of highly toxic fish through fishing education programs for underserved youth, Extension programs reaching Hispanics and other minorities, content-rich teacher workshops, and youth-led community health expos.

Work Plan

-Educate children and their families via teacher education and dissemination through community-based health expos.
-Make information on fish contaminants more readily available to subsistence anglers and to pregnant and nursing mothers.
-Develop an education program that provides critical human health guidance.
-Provide information-based expos created by students (with teacher guidance)

Action Plan

1. Construct a workshop that provides training and materials on fish contaminants. This is targeted to middle and high school science, health, and food/nutrition teachers. The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant publication, Contaminants in Fish and Seafood: A Safe Guide to Consumption , will provide useful information about the benefits of eating fish, the critical contaminants (mercury and PCBs) identified in Lake Michigan LaMP as causing health problems for “sensitive populations,” and the advised preparation of the fish to reduce the contaminants. Presenters include scientists, outreach specialists, and other nutrition experts.

2. Feature student projects at expos highlighting fish consumption advisories and recommendations for safe food preparation. Events such as Fiesta del Sol, a food-tasting event that attracts about 1.5 million Hispanic people each year, and Wolf Lake Wetlands, Wind, and Water Festival, will provide excellent venues to share this information.

3. Provide educational resources and guidance for teachers to help replicate the health expo in their schools. A Web page will be created on the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Web site providing links to the latest information on fish contaminants and how to minimize health risks, using links to U.S. EPA, FDA, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Fish for Your Health ™ Web site, and other agency sites. Links to existing information sites on health issues for targeted ethnic groups/health networks will also be provided.

4. Build a broader teacher network that is competent in incorporating subject matter within current curriculum. This will be accomplished through teacher presentations at local, regional, and national education conferences. Teachers will demonstrate their local projects as models for replication in other urban areas. The National Science Teacher Association Regional Conference, (Nov. 10-12, 2005), in Chicago will be a significant professional opportunity for presentation and information exchange.

Outcome

We will raise awareness that can lead to a change in behavior among groups that can be seriously impacted by improper preparation and overconsumption of fish that may be highly toxic by collaborating with education programs that relate to fishing for underserved youth; offering Extension programs reaching Hispanic, African American, and Asian audiences; leading content-rich teacher workshops; holding youth-led community health expos; and sponsoring student project exhibits at festivals in the southern Lake Michigan region. ]

Contact
For additional information or questions, please contact Robin Goettel at 217-333-9448 or goettel@illinois.edu.