Urban Watershed Education

Prior to 2003, Burlington, the largest urban area in Vermont, had no water quality or watershed education programs in public schools. Concurrently, all surface waters in Burlington (and in most of surrounding Chittenden County) are impaired by stormwater- or runoff-associated bacteria. From 2003 - 2007, the Watershed Alliance and LCSG implemented a USEPA-supported Urban Watershed Education project at Edmunds Middle School in Burlington. Through this project we developed and tested a module-based urban watershed and water quality education program, which teachers tend to prefer over adopting completely new curricula.

The core program has three components: a) modules of classroom activities that use watershed and water quality concepts to teach a 7-8 science curriculum, b) stream monitoring of physical conditions and water quality, and c) a student-driven outreach project. While the grant period has ended, we continue our work with Edmunds Middle School, teaching urban watersheds modules to every 7th and 8th grade student during the fall program season, and hosting the students on the Melosira, UVM's research vessel, through our Lake Champlain Floating Laboratory program.

For more information on this project, watch the video or contact UVM Watershed Alliance Coordinator, Erin Haney.