Center for Environmental Education Online. (all EE topics)
Jackpot, if you like to do your own browsing for curriculum! K-12 environmental education curricula on topics ranging from agriculture and climate change to social action and solar energy. Each curriculum in the CEE library has been reviewed by an environmental studies graduate student according to the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) guidelines for excellence. You can search for curriculum by categories including grade level, subject, region of the country, and topic.
http://www.ceeonline.org/curriculum/

Housatonic River Curriculum Project (watershed)
This place-based curriculum, specific to the Housatonic watershed, was developed by a team of Berkshire teachers and environmental consultants. It has elementary, middle school, and high school components. It is well-organized, has links to further resources, could be adapted to the Hoosic watershed, and identifies Massachusetts Science Framework connections (see links below). Well worth a look!
http://www.restorehousatonic.com/education_network.htm
Introducing the Local Watershed
http://www.restorehousatonic.com/INTRODUCINGWATERSHED.htm
http://www.restorehousatonic.com/IntroductiontoWatersheds.htm

  Elementary School Curriculum
  http://www.restorehousatonic.com/Elementary_School_Curriculum_Index.htm

  Middle School Curriculum
  http://www.restorehousatonic.com/Middle_School_Curriculum_Index.htm

  High School
  Mathematics: Introduction to Mapping-What is a topographic map?
  http://www.restorehousatonic.com/IntroductiontoMapping.htm

  Environmental Sciences: Land Use: Ground Use and Surface Contamination, Seepage and   Weepage, Road Salting, and Contamination of Water: Cradle to Grave
  http://www.restorehousatonic.com/IntroductiontoLanduse.htm

  Massachusetts Science Framework Connections
  http://www.restorehousatonic.com/Appendix3.htm

A River Runs Through Us: A Collaborative Effort to Study the Housatonic River
A great source of ideas, curriculum, and activities, many adaptable to the Hoosic. Available on the Pittsfield school district website. Do check it out.
http://mail.pittsfield.net/districtweb/technologypd/housatonicriver/housatonicriver

The Hudson River: An American Treasure (river, watershed)
An example of good curriculum integration, this site was created by Dutchess County high school students working in a summer enrichment program at Marist College. Many images accompany text the students wrote on culture, economy, environment, politics and transportation. http://www.marist.edu/summerscholars/99/

Middle School Discovery (watershed)
Discovery School offers another collection of watershed education activities. The links below connect to detailed lesson plans on four topics: population growth and water availability; waste water disposal; water ecosystem pollution; and the earth's waters.
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/activities/watereverywhere/
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/earthswaters/
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/aquatichabitats/
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/finiteoceans/

Vermont Agency of Natural Resources
Provides links to environmental education websites, all leads divided into three broad grade level categories.
http://www.anr.state.vt.us/site/html/students.htm

Environmental Protection Agency for Kids (wetlands)
This site provides a wealth of introductory information about estuaries. It offers interactive games and activities as well as hands-on tours of specific estuaries around the country. A glossary page defines technical terms used throughout the site. Resources also are provided for teachers and students interested in learning more about related organizations, publications, and Web sites.
http://www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries/kids/ See also www.epa.gov/kids/water.htm for more general water topics.

Washington State Department of Ecology (wetlands)
A curriculum guide for grades K-12 which focuses on what wetlands are, why they are important, and how human actions affect them. Focuses on Washington state, but can be adapted to the northeast.
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/8816a.pdf

A World in Our Backyard.(wetlands)
Developed in cooperation with EPA by the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission. Information and activities about wetlands in New England for educators and their middle school students. It suggests ways to study wetland characteristics, why wetlands are important, and how students and teachers can help protect a local wetland. This guide aims to help students get to know the complexities of wetlands, discover wildlife, enjoy the experience of being outdoors, and learn how necessary wetlands are to the health of our environment.
http://www.epa.gov/region01/students/teacher/world.html

Sea Education Association (wetlands, water supply)
Most of this website deals with marine study, but two lesson plans are applicable to fresh water.
Wetlands Transects http://www.sea.edu/academics/k12.asp?plan=wetlandstransects
Waters of the Earth http://www.sea.edu/academics/k12.asp?plan=watersoftheearth

US Geological Service (water)
Ciencia del Agua para Escuelas!
The USGS water education site is available in both Spanish and English, and is easily navigable, providing aspectos básicos del agua, cuestionarios, encuestas de opinion, y mas! El lugar para practicar español y aprender sobre de agua.
http://water.usgs.gov/gotita/

Fair Banks Museum (Vermont-- mulitple topics))
This site features an easily accessible and comprehensive natural science curriculum for teachers and students in grades 4-8, exploring over 36 topics. Note especially Raindrops to the Sea, Water, and Acid Precipitation.
http://www.fairbanksmuseum.org/education_archive.cfm

Lewis Creek Association (Vermont-- benthic macroinvertebrate sampling))
Want your class to look at bottom-dwelling bugs to determine water quality?
This site has a downloadable curriculum for Grades 5-12, including the applicable VT Standards, as a PDF file. Go to: http://www.lewiscreek.org/education.htm#Student%20River%20Monitoring%20and%20Citizenship

Vermont Institute of Natural Science: Environmental Citizenship
From VINS website: "Environmental Citizenship comprises four interdisciplinary, ecosystems-based units and one unit focused on local environmental decision-making. They can be taught collectively as a two- or three-year curriculum, or each unit can be taught individually. EC helps educators instruct to educational standards, providing interdisciplinary learning opportunities for students to attain essential skills and knowledge."
One of the units is "Atlantic Salmon: A Watershed-Wide View". Two others deal with vernal pools and with investigating local environmental problems in your town.
Grades 5-12; Vermont Standards: 3.7; 3.9; 4.1; 6.9; 7.13
For more information, go to http://www.vinsweb.org/education/EC.html

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PUBLICATIONS AND OTHER MEDIA

HooRWA
In addition to information available on the HooRWA website, the HooRWA office has reference material, videos, and CDs related to watershed education. An annotated list of HooRWA library resources will be available soon. Meanwhile, feel free to contact us for more information.

VT Dept of Environmental Conservation
This Water Quality Division Resources site includes publications, videos, and slide shows. Many resources are available for downloading in pdf format (Adobe Acrobat Reader required). http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/waterq/cfm/ref/resources.cfm

Acorn Naturalists Catalogue.
A superb source of publications, kits, and activities for watershed or river study (and a wealth of other environmental topics). Available online at www.acornnaturalists.com or call 800-422-8886. Try these locations for a sampling:
http://www.acornnaturalists.com/store/category.asp?SID=2&Category_ID=115&Page=1
http://www.acornnaturalists.com/store/category.asp?SID=2&Category_ID=113

The Streamkeepers Catalog
This useful catalog of publications and equipment is available on the website of the Adopt-A-Stream Foundation at http://www.streamkeeper.org/catalog/index.htm . Not curriculum-- but excellent resources if you plan to go out and study a stream on a regular basis. (While you're there, check the whole website for ideas.)

Streamkeeper's Field Guide: Watershed Inventory and Stream Monitoring Methods.
Tom Murdoch and Martha Cheo. Adopt-A-Stream Foundation (2001)
Fabulous illustrations, excellent guidance for becoming a "streamkeeper." A video, narrated by Bill Nye the Science Guy, complements the book and would be suitable for middle schoolers. Great resource for teachers interested in stream study (science and math skills) and stream stewardship (community action, citizenship skills).
Available from Adopt-A-Stream Foundation at http://www.streamkeeper.org/catalog or call: (206) 316-8592. HooRWA office has book and video if you would like to preview them.

Project WET: Water Education for Teachers
Project WET is a nonprofit water education program and publisher for educators and young people ages 5-18. The program facilitates and promotes awareness, appreciation, knowledge, and stewardship of water resources through the dissemination of classroom-ready teaching aids and the establishment of internationally sponsored Project WET programs. The Project WET homepage is http://www.projectwet.org. Educational materials can be ordered from http://www.projectwet.org/store/
Much of Project WET's material is good for teachers who are limited to classroom activities. It's even better if complemented by more field-oriented programs.

Discover a Watershed: The Watershed Manager Educators Guide
As it says on their website, "A 193-page guide that contains 19 science-based, multidisciplinary activities that teach what a watershed is, how it works, and why we must all consider ourselves watershed managers. An extensive background section introduces readers to fundamental watershed concepts. Each activity adapts to your local watershed, contains e-links for further internet research, and is correlated to the National Standards for Science. Published by The Watercourse. BONUS! Includes a 26"x38" Map of Selected North American Rivers and Watersheds." Available from the Water Education Foundation at
http://www.water-ed.org/store/itemdetail.asp?id=263.

The Nature Conservancy. Last Great Places.(Berkshire Taconic Landscape geology, geography)
This website is an educational resource for residents, students, teachers, and anyone who would like to learn more about the Berkshire Taconic Landscape (mostly a little south of the Hoosic drainage).
http://lastgreatplaces.org/berkshire/history/index.html
http://lastgreatplaces.org/berkshire/resources/index.html

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SUPPLIES FOR ACTIVITIES AND FIELD TRIPS

Acorn Naturalists Catalog
Available online at www.acornnaturalists.com or call 800-422-8886. Kits and equipment are displayed at http://www.acornnaturalists.com/store/category.asp?SID=2&Category_ID=113

The Streamkeepers Catalog
http://www.streamkeeper.org/catalog/index.htm . Not an exhaustive supply but some handy items, e.g., nets and thermometers.

Lamotte
This company markets water testing kits specifically for educators at http://www.lamotte.com/pages/edu/monitor.html

Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
The CT DEP has a user-friendly protocol for sampling and identifying benthic macroinvertebrates as a way of determining water quality in a "wadeable" stream. It is designed for volunteer groups in CT but could be adapted for local classroom use. Their website at http://dep.state.ct.us/wtr/volunmon/rbv.htm provides downloadable identification cards and instructions, including a detailed equipment list. The equipment itself can be assembled from household items, plus a scientific supply company or one of the sources above.
[If you are interested in sampling benthic macroinvertebrates, there is MUCH more information available, but this is a good manageable starting point.]

HOOSIC LESSON PLANS Under construction. Please send us yours!

HOOSIC FIELD TRIPS Under construction

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