EDUCATION
EDUCATION
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Culpeper SWCD staff make presentations to adults throughout the five-county area. Every year the District sponsors or participates in certain major events, which include:
The Culpeper District cooperates with educators and the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service to bring conservation education to schools in the area. The Water Wizard Van, and the District's own Enviroscape and Ground Water Flow Model have been well-received and highly successful in giving students hands-on experience with the basic concepts underlying soil and water conservation. Once a year The Culpeper SWCD provides an Educational Scholarship to students who are planning to major in a field related to resource conservation. We also offer scholarships for students to attend Youth Conservation Camp and the Holiday Lake Forestry Camp. The Culpeper SWCD routinely submits articles on educational events, conservation news, and various BMP programs available throughout the District. These articles are regularly printed in county newspapers. The District maintains a mobile display of District programs and stewardship concepts. We take this exhibit to county fairs, agriculture-expo events, educational conferences, and annual meetings. Conservation publications are offered to the public free-of-charge.
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Links to Conservation Education Web Sites
| Center
for Watershed Protection |
| ChesSIE (Chesapeake Science on the Internet for Educators) - A resource center and communications hub supporting watershed-wide K-12 Chesapeake Bay science education. |
| The Environmental Literacy Council - A site with useful information and links to other web sites on a variety of environmental topics including land & climate, water, ecosystems, energy, food, and environment & society. There are also links to resources designed for teachers and students. |
| Canon Envirothon - A national natural resources competition for high school students. |
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Virginia Envirothon - A state natural resources competition for high school students. |
| Izaac Walton League of America - The "Education and Outreach" section on the Isaac Walton League home page provides links to educational topics, which also lend themselves to research and other projects-oriented activities. Topics include the American Wetlands Campaign, Clean Air Now Campaign, Fish Kill Advisory Network, Midwest Power Plant Campaign, Outdoor Ethics Program, Save Our Streams Program, and the Sustainability Education Program. |
| Kid's Cave - A Virginia Department of Environmental Quality website devoted to environmentally related topics for students, including Places to Visit (a list of places to visit in Virginia and surrounding area to learn about the environment first hand), Kids in Action (stories of successful projects kids have undertaken), Figure It Out (quizzes on rivers, litter and wetlands), Pollution Solutions (suggestions for projects kids can undertake), and the E-Brary (a collection of fact sheets on such topics as drought, hazardous waste, and recycling). |
| The Learning Web - This USGS natural resources educational resource for students has links to 50 great sites, including such topics as Acid Rain, Eruptions of Mt. St Helens: Past, Present and Future, Biology Kid's Corner, Kid's Butterfly Site, and Earthshots: satellite pictures of environmental change. |
| Let's be Water Smart - numerous tips on waterwise land use and household practices. |
| Science Learning Network - Links to information and activities for science students K-12, including such topics as migration of Monarch Butterflies, hurricanes, the dynamics of water, and energy concepts. |
| Surf Your Watershed - This Environmental Protection Agency website is fully interactive: just enter your zip code, city or county to view and/or print a map of your watershed, complete with water quality indications. It also includes a searchable database of environmental websites. |
| U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Water Science for Schools - Information on many aspects of water, along with pictures, data, maps, and an interactive center where you can share opinions and test your water knowledge. |
| Virginia Naturally Educational Resources - This site includes the Virginia's Natural Resources Education Guide, a curriculum supplement for educators full of information, activities and resources for elementary teachers, and the Environmental Education Directory, a searchable database of over 300 programs, services and materials. |
| Virginia Cooperative Extension Educational Resources - Information on numerous topics related to natural resources and the outdoors, including environmental management, forestry and wildlife. (materials for 9-12) |
| Virginia's Water Resources - Information and activities for teachers to support interdisciplinary and problem-based teaching about watersheds, water quality, stewardship, and management issues, correlated to Virginia's SOLs. Supports the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement's goal to "provide a meaningful Bay or stream outdoor experience for every school student in the watershed before graduation from high school." |
| Water Environment Federation - water-related lesson plans K-12 (including some in Spanish), complementary materials, career information. |
| Water Related Websites - A collection of links on water (and other science topics) including Water Science for Schools, Science Gems (thousands of pages of curriculum and lesson aids materials for K-12), and Science Curriculum by teachers for teachers (materials for K-12). |
| Wood Magic Show - Learning about trees, wood and wood products with a series of interactive lessons and activities. |