Reference Library: Topics

Watershed and Water Resource Education

Recommended! Adopt-A-Watershed. Adopt-A-Watershed is described as a K-12 school-community learning experience.  Students use a local watershed as a living laboratory, engaging in hands-on activities to make science relevant to their lives.  Learn about the Adopt-A-Watershed program, training opportunities, consulting services, and order materials to start a program in your community.
http://www.adopt-a-watershed.org/

Educating Young People about Water, by the University of Wisconsin Extension.  Order or download (Adobe Acrobat format) the following guides from:
http://www.uwex.edu/erc/ywc/

1. "A Guide to Program Planning and Evaluation" helps you set up a youth water education program.

2. "A Guide to Unique Program Strategies" provides 37 case studies of programs that integrate community water education issues and youth development needs.

3. "A Guide to Goals and Resources" provides water education curricula summaries, environmental education topics and goals, and multimedia resources.

Internet Watershed Educational Tool (InterWET), by Shane Parson of the Penn State Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department.  InterWET was developed to help educate local officials and other concerned citizens about water resources through a case study of the Spring Creek Watershed in central Pennsylvania.  Covers various water resource issues, including  surface runoff, groundwater, sediment, and in-stream nutrients from three perspectives: a researcher, a conservationist, and a local official.  Each page has a short lesson using an interactive calculator or interactive map.
http://www.interwet.psu.edu/

Ohio Water Education Program (OWEP) is a coordinated effort by several water agencies and organizations to develop a comprehensive water education program for Ohio.  Their web site contains information on the Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide.   This guide (for kindergarten through twelfth grades) is a collection of innovative, water-related activities that are hands-on. 
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/water/educate/owep/default.htm

Rivers Project Home Page, by Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.  The Rivers Project was developed for the purpose of increasing high-school students' scientific literacy by collecting and analyzing water samples.  You can order curriculum guides on a variety of topics for a variety of subject areas, including: biology, chemistry, earth sciences, geography, language arts, mathematics, "Exploring Wetlands", and "Zebra Muscle Mania."
http://www.siue.edu/OSME/river/index.html#Rivers Project

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water Homepage.  This site is a good starting point for locating educational Web-sites related to water resources and water quality targeting concerned citizens and children.  Also contains a directory of EPA publications by subject area.
http://www.epa.gov/watrhome/

Water On the Web (WOW) by University of Minnesota and a variety of public and private partners.  Focusing on the ecology of Minnesota's lakes, this site is targeted to helping high school and college freshmen understand and solve real-world environmental problems.  Learners use real-time and archived data to explore basic science concepts through directed study and inquiry approaches.  Lesson plans for both teachers and students can be downloaded from:
http://wow.nrri.umn.edu/wow/index.html

References and Educational Resource Databases 

Center for Environmental Education (CEE) hosts "one of the nation's most comprehensive collections of environmental educational materials, [and] has provided schools, environmentalists, government agencies and individuals with access to materials..." CEE has recently become a program of the Antioch New England Graduate School of Keene, NH.
http://www.cee-ane.org/

Clearing House of the Educational Resource Information Center is a database sponsored by the US Department of Education. The goal of the database is to provide access to information available for teaching and learning about science, mathematics, and the environment.  Water related educational activities are located under "Environmental Education Resources."
http://www.ericse.org/

A Study of Resource Agency/Landowner Interaction in Northern California, by Hal Voege and Norbert Wagner. Prepared for the California Dept. of Forestry (1997). Discusses the 4 stages of learning, building motivation and partnerships with local organizations that serve  landowners, and overcoming barriers to effective learning and partnership.
http://ceres.ca.gov/foreststeward/html/reports.html

The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) collects and maintains the national education bibliographic database under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Education. ERIC maintains on-line resources, lesson plans and low-cost print publications.
http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/

EE Link.  A project of the North American Association for Environmental Education 
Searchable database of environmental education resources.  The site contains professional resources, class resources, and environmental information.
http://eelink.net/criteria.html

Watershed Management, by Conservation Technology Information Center.  Order or download a variety of educational publications (including those listed below) from:
http://www.ctic.purdue.edu/CTIC/Catalog/WatershedManagement.html

1. "Walk Your Watershed Festival Organizing Kit"

2. "Watershed Management Starter Kit" includes seven guides, a 13-minute video, and 10 brochures for getting a watershed partnership up a going.

3. "Do You Know Your Watershed?" includes a self-test.

4. "Riparian Area Management: A Citizen's Guide"

5. "River Friendly Farmer Kit" is a program developed to recognize farmers who adopt river-friendly practices.

6. "Managing Conflict" guide

National Watershed Library, by Conservation Technology Information Center on their "Know Your Watershed" site.  Enter the audience, topic area, and format (factsheet, public service announcement, video, etc.) and the Library will give you a list of educational resources.
http://www.ctic.purdue.edu/KYW/