Healthy Watershed Series
A water education series for 4th and 5th grades. This water education series teaches students about the importance of water, with a focus on their local watershed, through hands-on and place-based experiences.
LARPD rangers present the series, which consists of two in-class programs (each one hour long) and a field trip (1 ½ hours long) to a local creek, where students will put into action what they have learned. Teachers may choose to do the series as a whole or just a longer form of the field trip.
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Healthy Watershed Series Programs
The concept of a watershed becomes clear as students actively explore how water moves through mountains, valleys and towns, and affects the health of the people and animals that live there. After this program, students will understand how litter contributes to storm water pollution and can affect our creeks and bay. They will be able to identify potential sources of pollution in their neighborhoods and at school, and find ways to help prevent our watershed from being negatively impacted.
Standards met: 4-ESS2.CC; 5-ESS3.C
The second program in this series will build on what students have learned so far to prepare them for their field trip to a stream. They will learn about aquatic insects and other water-loving creatures and how they can be indicators of stream health. Students will discuss the aquatic food web, and see how easy it is to disrupt. They will test the pH of several liquids and brainstorm other ways to evaluate stream health. After this program, students will be ready to visit the stream as scientists.
Standards met:4-LS1.A; 5-LS2.A
Now that students have an understanding of ways to examine stream health, it’s time to put what they have learned into action. Students will visit a local creek, perform aquatic insect sampling, record data, measure pH, take measurements and examine the stream for signs of pollution and human influence. They will analyze their data and discuss their findings in the context of what their research indicates about the health of the local watershed.
4-ESS2-1.SEP / 4-PS3-2.SEP; 4-ESS2-2; 5-PS1.CC; 5-PS1.SEP
Program Fees and Details
| Program | Grade | Length | Within District Fee | Out of District Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water Flows: What is Water Shed?, Stream Life I What Can You Learn From A Water Bug?, Stream Life II: Scientist's Look at a Stream | 4-5 | 2 in-class Programs (1 hour each) with a 1.5 hour Field Trip | $380 | $415 |
| Stream Life II: Scientist's Look at a Stream (Stand alone pricing) | 4-5 | 2 Hour Field Trip | $265 | $290 |
For more information, call the LARPD Ranger Office at (925) 960-2400.
