Event information: Evening shale gas workshop, June 26, Oakmont, PA
On June 26, I travelled with two of my colleagues to Allegheny County, PA to conduct an abbreviated shale gas workshop in Oakmont, PA at the local library. This was my first shale gas workshop and the first time I have presented at a workshop. In order to prepare, we spent time practicing our presentations and asking questions about ALLARM’s shale gas protocol. I presented on the stream testing and data management aspects of shale gas monitoring. After a number of practices, I felt excited to share this knowledge at our workshop.
Before this experience, I had only trained one group of new monitors at a previous workshop. Because of this, I was nervous to tap back into my training skills and interact with volunteers during our hands-on activity. Once our presentations were underway, these nerves slowly subsided. Hearing from community members about their concern for their environment reminded me that we had similar goals and our interaction was nothing to be intimidated by. During the site selection portion of our workshop, participants can ask questions and share any ideas they may have had about sites they would like to monitor. During this time, I was able to connect with a woman hoping to monitor multiple sites. I had a general understanding of the fracking activity in the area but hearing from her reminded me that community members know their water and area so much better than I do just by looking at data points on a map. I enjoyed our conversation because, while I was able to answer some of her questions, she gave me so much insight on how she stays current with fracking activity in her community. Talking with her made me proud to be a part of the organization that was providing her with further resources to better understand her environment.
The hands-on activity was another opportunity for me to connect with community members. The activity that we walk participants through is meant to introduce volunteers to the equipment and procedures involved in monitoring. This portion of the workshop stood out to me because I was able to talk to volunteers in a smaller group, which allowed me to connect with each of them.
Presenting during the workshop