Watershed Experiences

Water is always going somewhere. When rivers and streams share a common destination, they're known as a "watershed." For example, the Potomac River and its tributaries are part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed because they converge into the Chesapeake Bay. Each stream, creek, and river is part of a larger watershed.

Watershed experiences are investigations, studying local environmental conditions that can indicate needed stewardship actions. They're also a way to study your environment up close - the plants, creatures and water content that populate the water flowing around you. Scientific data gathered during watershed activities plays a role in decisions that affect ecosystem health. Here are a few organizations that can connect you with watershed activities:

 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration logo, U.S. Department of Commerce

The NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program is an environmental education program that promotes locally-relevant, authentic experiential learning focused on K–12 audiences. The primary delivery of B-WET is through competitive funding that promotes Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences -MWEEs (pronounced me-wees).

MWEEs are learner-centered experiences that focus on investigations into local environmental issues that lead to informed stewardship actions. They are composed of multiple elements that include learning both outdoors and in the classroom, and are designed to increase the environmental literacy of all student participants. All students, regardless of where they live or their social or economic status, should have the opportunity to participate in and benefit from MWEEs.

 

Local Watershed Experiences (Maryland & Chesapeake Bay)

 

Alice Ferguson Foundation logo

Bridging the Watershed - BTW is an outreach program of the Alice Ferguson Foundation, in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) and area schools, designed to promote student academic achievement, personal connections with the natural world, lifelong civic engagement, and environmental stewardship through hands-on curriculum-based outdoor studies in national parks and public lands. To schedule a program, educators should contact the Foundation.

 

Chesapeake Bay Foundation logo, Saving a National Treasure, Save the Bay

Chesapeake Bay Foundation provides a variety of MWEE - Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences. They are learner-centered experiences that actively engage students in building knowledge and meaning through hands-on investigation of local environmental issues. Designed to meet academic standards through outdoor field investigations into local environmental issues, they involve stewardship and civic action.

As with other problem and project-based approaches to learning, MWEEs provide standards-driven student learning within the context of life-relevant, real-world problems or phenomena. Investigations frequently take place on school grounds or with a field-based education provider like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Finally, MWEEs culminate in student action projects, which can take many forms, including environmental restoration or protection, everyday choices, community engagement, and civic action.