ONREP partnered with Dr. Christoph Thomas in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences on his NSF-funded project, A new direction into atmospheric near-surface transport for weak-wind conditions in plant canopies, to involve a K-12 teacher in his research. ONREP recruited Sherwood high school teacher John McGinity to work with Dr. Chris Thomas and Ph.D. candidate Steve Drake on a field project investigating airflow in mountainous terrain and potential links to climate change. Based directly on his experience, John developed lesson plans for his physics students to use machine generated fog, video, and Vernier Logger Pro software to quantify wind motions in various environments.  John presented the materials he developed to other high school science teachers at the Oregon Science Teachers Association in October of 2012 and also developed an activity where students investigate real-time weather data to help prepare them for the ACT test.

For other examples of involving a K-12 teacher in research, see the Andrews LTER Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program.