Education

We are building community-wide stewardship ethic rooted in watershed science and place-based, participatory learning.

K-12 Education

As children, many of our staff spent time outside exploring the nooks and crannies of trees, dipping our fingers and toes into rivers, and building fairy houses. Now, we are often lucky enough to get to do similar things in our work – exploring the forest with an increment borer to learn how old the trees are, dipping jars into rivers to see all the macroinvertebrates living there, and building beaver dam analogs to restore the complexity of our rivers and catch sediment after fire. What if we could provide experiences that mix the joy and awe of exploring our natural places with learning about how to create and maintain a healthier watershed for generations to come?

Enter: our watershed youth. The Watershed Center’s youth and education programming strives to engage young people in hands-on STEM education throughout the watershed to inspire in them a love and understanding of their natural world. It is this connection to the watershed that drives us to engage in the work we do, and we love the chance to pass it on!

Throughout the year, staff at The Watershed Center teach in classrooms, lead experiential outdoor learning opportunities, and support watershed science learning through equipment libraries and curriculum development. We are currently partnering with Lyons Elementary School, Lyons Middle Senior High School, Indian Peaks Elementary School, Flagstaff Academy, and Cal-Wood Education Center to teach 3^rd-12^th graders about watershed science.

The Watershed Center brings technical expertise, creativity, and enthusiasm to Lyons’ Elementary School’s Science and Leadership programing. Students are able to problem solve, explore, and engage in real-world watershed science activities alongside the Watershed Center’s scientists. We feel fortunate to be able to bring these place-based experiences to our students.

Andrew Moore

Lyons Elementary School Principal

Learning Library

Staff at The Watershed Center design and implement experiential, science-based learning opportunities for watershed students of all ages. We believe these resources are essential to ensuring the health of our watershed into the future. As the future stewards of increasingly threatened ecosystems, today’s youth deserve quality opportunities to spend time outdoors, learn from experts, engage in the scientific process, and grasp their own agency in contributing to the future of healthy watersheds.

All Watershed Center lesson plans are freely available to be used in your classroom. If you have questions about any lesson plans, please reach out to our Community Program Manager.

Elementary School Lesson Plans

Wildfire Behavior and Healthy Forests (3rd Grade)

Flood Science and Healthy Rivers (3rd Grade)

Stream Investigation Series (5th Grade)

Stream Investigation Series – Video Guides

Middle School Lesson Plans

Riparian Habitat Study Part I – Classroom Intro (6th Grade)

Riparian Habitat Study Part II – Field Data Collection (6th Grade)

Benthic Macroinvertebrate Sampling Part I – Classroom Intro (7th Grade)

Benthic Macroinvertebrate Sampling Part II – Field Data Collection (7th Grade)

Rivers and Floodplains (8th Grade)

Forests and Fire (8th Grade)

Equipment Library

The Watershed Center offers equipment loans to educators in the St. Vrain watershed. Do you want to collect benthic macroinvertebrates or estimate a tree’s total stored carbon, but don’t have access to the tools your students need? Borrow from our Equipment Library!

Materials are available year-round unless currently on loan. Please note the Water Quality Testing kits may require some advance notice to ensure we have all materials in stock.

To inquire about availability please reach out to our Community Program Manager.

Available kits:

- - Benthic Macroinvertebrate Sampling
  - Water Quality Testing
  - Carbon Storage Estimation (Coming soon)
  - Other – contact us if you think we might have equipment your students could borrow!