|
Resources
This list contains information,
curricular materials, links, pictures and other useful
goodies for storm water education in science, social
studies, language arts, physical education and even
foreign language classes. Storm water education can be
integrated into a variety of subjects, school service
projects or club activities.
Wisconsin -
Rain Gardens/ Rain
Barrels -
Curriculum -
National - Other
States - Supplies
IN WISCONSIN
The City of Milwaukee
Storm Water Management Program
You can print a flyer about run off
pollution, a list of actions people can take to prevent
storm water pollution, a flyer about pet waste, a Clean
River Quiz, and storm drain stenciling sheets. A
hotline number (414-286-8162) and email form are
available for reporting storm water pollution.
The
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
Useful information about rain gardens,
rain barrels, downspout disconnection, and water
quality. The web site has very thorough explanations of
the sewer systems with excellent illustrations. The
“Every Drop Counts” section has printable information
about storm water pollution and water conservation.
MMSD gives wastewater treatment presentations in schools
on various water quality subjects that include
wastewater treatment, point and nonpoint source
pollution, and watersheds. Free tours of the wastewater
treatment plant and water testing laboratories are also
available. Professional Development sessions for
educators can be conducted on request.
Contact: Cora Lee-Palmer at
cpalmer@mmsd.com
MMSD
260 W Seeboth St
Milwaukee, WI 53204
(414) 225-2191
The University
of Wisconsin Extension
Information about the Give Water a Hand
project which guides schools and students in engaging in
community service projects to help keep our waters
clean. The site has downloadable guides in English and
Spanish for youth and leaders.
UW-Extension
has a variety of publications available
online or by calling 1-877-947-7827.
Educating Young
People About Water has 150 lesson plans, guides, a
video and other resources for educating youth about
water. Also, there is a
Wisconsin Run-Off
Info site with Educational Publication information.
The Milwaukee River Basin Partnership
offers a map and lesson plans.
Urban
Ecology Center
at Riverside Park offers a variety
of school and summer programs at their eco-friendly
building and grounds.
The Great
Lakes Information Network
has information about Great Lake beach
health. The site has links to many resources.
Beach closing and water quality information
for local beaches can be found here.
The Alliance for the Great Lakes
has information about Coastal Awareness
Month (September), beach clean-ups and the Adopt a Beach
program, which provides schools with materials and
training in cleaning beaches, monitoring the water and
collecting and using data. Contact Art Montgomery, WI
Outreach Coordinator, at
amontgomery@greatlakes.org or 414-559-0317.
The Ocean Conservancy
has a Wisconsin Coastal Management
Program which sponsors a one day Beach Sweep in
September, which is Wisconsin Coastal Awareness Month.
The Just Add Water Lesson Plan accompanies the clean up
and is available to schools. Contact Kae DonLevy at
414-588-0617 or kdonlevy@aol.com.
The Water Action Volunteers
“describes a statewide program for
Wisconsin citizens who want to learn about and improve
the quality of Wisconsin’s streams and rivers.” There
is information on stream water quality monitoring, storm
drain stenciling, and river cleanups. The free WAV
Packet, a “program resource that includes eight
action-oriented activities” about water quality is
available.
Contact: Kris Stepenuck, Water Action
Volunteers' Coordinator at:
Environmental
Resources Center
210 Hiram Smith Hall
1545 Observatory Drive
Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1289
Phone: 608-265-3887
Fax: 608-262-2031
kris.stepenuck@ces.uwex.edu
Or
Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources
WT/2, 101 South Webster Street
PO Box 7921
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Phone: 608-264-8948
Fax: 608-267-2800
kris.stepenuck@dnr.state.wi.us
Keep Greater
Milwaukee Beautiful
part of Keep America Beautiful, at 1313
W. Mount Vernon Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53233-2620 works on
“neighborhood cleanup and beautification; waste
reduction, reuse, and recycling; environmental education
for children; environmental forums; renewable and
efficient energy use; and resource conservation.” They
have an in house, waste reduction education center and a
variety of programs and classes for adults and youth.
Every Drop Counts is their water education program.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
has information for kids from 4th
to 8th grade (EEK! or Environmental Education
for Kids). The Water Wonders section has interesting
information and a water word search.
They offer a variety of publications such as “Water
Activities to Encourage Responsibility”. Call
608-267-2463 to order.
Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin
has a Great Lakes Watershed exhibit and
an aquarium to visit.
Riveredge Nature Center
in Newburg, WI runs a Testing the Waters
program for which middle and high schools monitory water
quality and report results.
Contact
Project
Director, Riveredge Nature Center
4458 W Hawthorne, PO Box 26
Newburg, WI 53060
414-375-2715
RAIN GARDENS/RAIN
BARRELS
The Metropolitan Milwaukee Sewerage
District website has
rain garden information and
rain
barrel information. They sell rain barrels.
Keep Greater
Milwaukee Beautiful also
supplies rain barrels.
“Rain Gardens-A How to Manual for
Homeowners” is an illustrated,
in depth booklet available
online from the University of Wisconsin-Extension.
To order it, call 1-877-947-7827 (publication GWQ037).
Find out about the
Wisconsin DNR Rain Garden Educator’s Kit
and how to plant large or “little bitty”
rain gardens. This site contains a list of Wisconsin
native plants and links to many other rain garden
websites.
The
Rodale Institute
has information in many languages about
gardening (there are steps for creating rain gardens),
healthy foods, and healthy living. Teachers, families
and kids can find useful materials and information
here. It is a colorful web site with fun graphics
about many subjects such as the water cycle and
protecting the earth’s water.
Friends of Milwaukee’s Rivers
built a rain garden with
Tonawanda Elementary School.
Spring Harbor Environmental Magnet Middle School
has photos of two rain
garden projects conducted in
Madison, WI. It also has a copy of the proposal used to
obtain grant money for the project.
CURRICULUM
Project Wild
curriculum of the Council for
Environmental Education. Of interest for water
education is the K-12 Aquatic Curriculum.
Council for Environmental Education
also has an urban environmental
water K-12 education project called Project Wet. The
goal is to provide “activities that creatively explore
the science of water, its cultural context, and complex
issues surrounding its management and stewardship”
according to the website.
Project WOW (The Wonder of
Wetlands)
from Environmental Concern Inc. is a K-12
program that educates students about plants, animals,
water and soil.
The Alliance for the Great Lakes
published a K-8 Curriculum entitled
Great Lakes in My World which has activities about
Lakes, Sand Dunes, Wetlands, Human Communities, History
and Geology.
Project
Learning Tree
of the American Forest has a pre-K
thorugh 8th grade environmental education program.
NATIONAL
The
US Geological Survey
has thorough information about ground
water, surface water, water quality and water use all
over the US. The site has a wealth of printable
posters, classroom materials, lesson plans and other
materials for all ages.
The
Environmental Protection Agency
has a great deal of information and
materials about watersheds, ground and drinking water,
wetlands, and oceans. Find articles and activities for
middle school students
here.
OTHER STATE SITES
The North Carolina Department of Natural Resources
has definitions, games, puzzles and a
“Grade Your School Yard” test to see how well your
school is doing at preventing storm water pollution.
Florida
with a lesson plan for comparing urban
and rural run-off.
Utah
with quite a few thorough lesson plans
about watersheds, such a “Watershed in a Box”.
Woodland, CA
with information about storm water
pollution.
Santa
Barbara, CA
has several water education lesson plans.
Michigan’s Clinton River Watershed
Council
has a clearinghouse of storm water
information.
The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments
has clearly presented information on
storm water, lesson plans, experiments and activities.
SUPPLIES
If you have the funds to purchase a fancy
model,
Enviroscapes has a plastic model of non-point source
pollution with a mister to simulate rain and other
accessories.
The Models used in the “Going with the
Flow: Preventing Storm Water Pollution in Milwaukee”
presentation is available for classroom use. Contact
the City of Milwaukee at 414-286-8162.
|
