Water in the West program shows students how water has shaped the western U.S.

ZION NATIONAL PARK – For many students, the start of summer consists of reconnecting with old friends, moving home, or starting summer jobs. For 21 Grand Valley students, it means learning about dinosaur footprints in the Front Range, watching the sunset at Delicate Arch, studying the impact of volcanic eruptions near Navajo Lake and more.

These experiences are part of Grand Valley’s inaugural Water in the West program, a high-impact learning experience that offers a first-hand look into water issues facing the U.S. The program will satisfy curriculum requirements for honors students with two weeks of online coursework before and after a four-week trip to the southwestern United States with stops in Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.

Following the initial two weeks of coursework, trip leaders and GVSU geology faculty members Peter Wampler and Peter Riemersma gathered earlier this month with students and their families/supporters for a packing party, more information about the trip and one last goodbye before the team departed.

The following morning, the group of 26 took off for the first stop: Devonian fossil gorge in Iowa City, IA.

May 22 marked day 10 of the 26-day trip. For Lizzie Kalafut, an incoming senior and teaching assistant on the trip, a highlight of the trip has been watching students, many of whom didn’t know each other prior to the class, grow closer together. 

“It’s been really cool to see this group from the first day, when I heard people say, ‘Oh, I don’t know her,’ or ‘I don’t know what to say to him’, to now being friends,” Lizzie says, reflecting on the first 10 days of the trip. “We all play card games almost every night, and people are really supporting each other. It’s been fun to see them getting better at the research we’re doing and learning about water together.”

On May 22, the group headed to their next stop, Zion National Park. Their day began with a hike to Scout’s Lookout, where they analyzed slants created by what were originally sand dunes in the canyon walls to determine which way the wind had been blowing to create those slants. 

Their trip ended with a stop at the entrance to the Narrows, where they worked together to measure the water discharge of the Virgin River, as they have at many rivers so far on their trip. The process includes figuring out the velocity of the water and estimating the depth and width of the river to determine the volume of water moved by the river in a specific amount of time, according to teaching assistant Grace Cairy. 

The Water in the West team will spend several more days in Utah before traveling to the next stop in Page, Arizona. Keep up with their adventures on GVSU’s Instagram and Facebook account, read some updates on GVNext and learn more about the program on the Water in the West website.