Teaching the Next Generation of Watershed Stewards

Mr. Nate and his fourth grade students from the Children’s Community School of Waterbury searched for signs of animal life in and around the Woodbury Reservoir during an October field trip with PRWC.

Science has long been at PRWC’s core, but education is our hallmark. This October, we continued our legacy of teaching the next generation of stewards how to care for our shared water resources with two very special programs.

First, PRWC facilitated a field trip to the Woodbury Reservoir for third through fifth grade students from the Children’s Community School of Waterbury. The trip was organized in partnership with the After School Arts Program (ASAP!) as one component of Metamorphosis, a school-based experiential learning program. During the field trip, students learned how limited and precious our freshwater resources are while visiting the site of the former water supply for Woodbury and rotating through three activity stations. The activities -- Awesome Aquifers, Animal Signs Scavenger Hunt, and Tie-Dying -- emphasized how plants, animals, and people all rely on water to survive and thrive. This learning was further integrated through other activities lead by an artist serving a two-week long residency at the school as part of ASAP’s Metamorphosis program.

A few weeks later, PRWC was one of five guest speakers who facilitated hands-on activities for Woodbury Middle School’s seventh grade students as part of the school’s annual Make a Splash Day. Carol Haskins, Outreach Director, lead the Long Island Sound in a Jar activity which teaches students about different sources of pollution that can affect Connecticut’s water resources. Students also learned about water monitoring, human health and water borne pathogens, rain gardens, and pollution prevention as they cycled through the different activities. The concepts students learn during Make a Splash Day are revisited frequently as they continue with their watershed studies in science class. Concepts are further reinforced later in the year with a unit on erosion.

Carol Haskins leads the Long Island Sound in a Jar activity to help Woodbury’s seventh graders learn about sources of pollution that can affect Connecticut’s water resources.

To learn more, visit our Watershed Education Programs page.

Photo caption: (TOP) Mr. Nate and his fourth grade students from the Children’s Community School of Waterbury searched for signs of animal life in and around the Woodbury Reservoir during an October field trip with PRWC. (BOTTOM) Carol Haskins leads the Long Island Sound in a Jar activity to help Woodbury’s seventh graders learn about sources of pollution that can affect Connecticut’s water resources.