solve

Define the Problem

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What is the problem at your site that you want to solve? 

Based on the information you gathered during your Site Survey or Watershed Survey:

  • What are possible problems that might be harming the watershed and the habitat of your species? 
  • How might your community’s history and current activities be a part of the problem? You might want to revisit Our History and Human Impacts to make connections. 
  • In what ways might you be able to solve the problem, and improve the health of the watershed and the habitat of your species?

Gather Evidence

Site Project

  • If you are doing a site project, investigate the site for human impacts that could be harmful to your animal species. If appropriate for identifying a problem, repeat relevant water investigation procedures described in Our Water Health (On-site Observations, Water Quality Tests, Macro-invertebrate Survey).
  • Read or talk with people about activities on and in the water. Find out how the community uses the water and surrounding land, and what people might be doing to care for the site.
  • Identify which of these activities could be harming your species and the site itself.

Watershed Project

  • If you are doing a watershed project, find out how your site has been used by people. Talk with people or read about activities in your area that might be harmful to the water and watershed. Even though these activities are not happening in or next to the water, they could still affect it by harming the water runoff which flows through the watershed into the water ecosystem.
  • Investigate the site for human impacts that could be affecting the sprinkler, rain, or snow water runoff. If appropriate for identifying a problem, collect runoff water from the parking lot, sidewalk or road. Repeat relevant water investigation procedures described in Our Water Health (Water Quality Tests, Macro-invertebrate Survey).
  • Ask community members and water experts whether or not there have been any community-wide efforts for people to improve the health of the local water ecosystem.

State the Problem

Based on your findings, identify and describe one problem that is either making your water site unhealthy for your species or making your watershed unhealthy for wildlife. 

Explain the evidence you found for this problem. You will be designing a project to help solve this problem.

Match the Solution

What would need to happen to solve the problem at your site or in your watershed? What do you want the project to accomplish?

Criteria for the Solution

These are requirements (non-negotiables) to designing a project that will help solve the problem.  What does the project need to do? Have you gotten all of the required permissions to be able to do a project on this site? 

Constraints for the Solution

These are limitations to solving the problem. What are the limits to your project? (examples: time, cost, materials, type of project)

Project Ready!

You are ready to research project ideas to find one that can solve the problem you defined!

Nice work! Now that you have defined the threat your project will address, the next two steps are to figure out what type of project you want to do and make a plan to put that project into action.

Let's get some ideas