09/01/2011 12:00 MDT - Juliette Vogel of Bern, Switzerland, has been the Country Coordinator of GLOBE Switzerland since 2004 and also serves as Co-Executive of The GLOBE Switzerland Association. Ms. Vogel completed her university studies at the University of Berne in biology and plant physiology and continued to further her studies in climatology, hydrology and pedology (the study of soil). Her systematic and interdisciplinary approach to environmental science drew her to The GLOBE Program where inquiry-based investigations of the environment and the Earth system often take a multi-disciplinary approach."Some of my fondest memories of GLOBE include leading training sessions that brought together so many enthusiastic teachers eager to introduce GLOBE into their classrooms," related Ms. Vogel. She continued by describing enjoyable experiences of piloting mixed-age investigations, including teaming a classroom of 8-year olds with 19 and 20-year students in Olten, Switzerland in 2010, to conduct research projects using GLOBE hydrology protocols on a small local river. According to Ms. Vogel, the results were positive. The younger students emulated the older students by paying close attention to procedures and safety equipment. The older students were challenged, in turn, by the need to explain complicated concepts such as pH, oxygen and nitrate levels, and macroinvertebrates as bio-indicators to the younger students. The process was educational and rewarding for all students involved."