Lessons and Projects

​ All the Way to the Ocean

Where do storm drains lead? Why do we need to worry about what goes down them? After hearing the story All the Way to the Ocean by Joel Harper, students will find out the answers to these questions and will pretend they are raindrops, pick up “pollutants” and “flow” through the watershed into a mock storm drain, carrying their pollution to streams.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Students will identify a storm drain.

• Students will explain where storm drains lead

• Students will be able to name two things that should NOT be found in a storm drain.

HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED:

• Listen to a read-aloud story

• Look at pictures in the read-aloud story

• Crawl through a mock storm drain.

​ How Much Runoff?

Using the Scientific Method, students complete an experiment to determine whether a developed or an undeveloped watershed has more stormwater runoff. Students will explain their conclusion and discuss alternatives to change the outcome.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Learn what a watershed is

• Understand how building in a watershed impacts runoff

• Follow the steps of the Scientific Method
  
  HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED:

• Create a hypothesis

• Conduct an experiment

• Follow the Scientific Method

• Share results with the class

​ I Don’t Pollute...Do I?

Students use a tabletop watershed model to see how household hazardous waste and other everyday activities can have unintended consequences to our streams and water supply.                 
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

 ​Incredible Journey

Students will pretend they are water drops and play a game that takes them on a journey through the water cycle. They keep a record of their journey so they can share verbally and then write a creative story about their adventure.                 
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

​ Rain, Rain Go Away

Student groups are presented with a flooding problem on a hypothetical residential property. They need to identify 2 reasons it is a problem and use a given set of supplies to come up with a solution. Solutions must be drawn and then explained to the class. Students are then led through a Power Point illustrating local examples of stormwater solutions, e.g. detention ponds, rain gardens, etc.                 
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Identify problems

• Explore potential solutions and identify the best one

• Work on solutions collaboratively with others

• Understand how constructed stormwater solutions work

HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED:

• Illustrating the problem

• Discussing possible solutions

• Drawing the solutions

​ School Recycling Project  

Think your school could use some help with recycling? Worried about how much waste is going to the landfill? Tackle a school recycling project!

The recycling educator will work with students to develop and implement a project plan for your school. Recycling signage is provided, and small bins can be supplied as supplies last. We will work together to perform a waste audit, discuss the process and limitations of recycling, and test your knowledge with an outdoor recycling relay race. We encourage and can assist in getting your school certified as a Washington Green School.

 Showers, Sinks, Laundry & Toilets: It All Adds Up

In a question and answer style discussion, the educator and students go through their typical morning and evening routines of showering, brushing teeth, cooking food, washing hands and doing laundry and list the items they place in water that make it dirty. The discussion will walk through the wastewater treatment system following the water as it leaves houses and businesses to pipes, treatment plants and then to the Puget Sound. Students will learn how much water they use each day, what impacts they make and best management practices for disposing of everyday items.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Describe what happens to water once it leaves a typical house/business in Kitsap County

• Understand the need/value of wastewater treatment

• List items used to treat wastewater

• Name four items that should go down the toilet

• Understand how household water systems fit within the water cycle
  
  HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED:

• Observe actual wastewater treatment plant process samples

• View images of items frequently disposed into the wastewater system

• Answer questions about their daily interaction with water inside the home.

 Soak It Up

Students calculate the percentage of impervious surface and runoff in a pretend neighborhood. Then, staying within a budget, they decide how to retrofit the neighborhood to minimize the impervious surface and calculate the difference in the runoff. 
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

 The Life of a Salmon

This salmon puppet show teaches students about the salmon life cycle, migration, and the natural and man made obstacles they encounter. An optional stuffed paper salmon craft activity is also available. Puppets and stage can be loaned out for a class puppet show. Older students put on the show for younger students! 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Identify and describe the five stages of the salmon life cycle

• Name two things that could hinder salmon’s survival

• Name two ways we can help salmon survive

• Explain what to do with dead salmon in streams and why

 There's No Point to this Pollution 

Use problem solving skills to solve a mystery and learn about the cumulative impacts of everyday pollution.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Identify different sources of pollution.

• Demonstrate the cumulative effects of everyday pollution.

• Learn to read and interpret a contour map while identifying important map clues about water¬sheds and water quality.

• Graph, analyze, and interpret data sets to draw conclusions about a pollution source.

• Compare local household and community everyday pollution to surface water quality standards.

• List ways to reduce or eliminate everyday pollution
  
  HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED:

• Use a topographic map to answer questions about a pretend watershed

• Work in groups to determine the source of water pollution in the community

• Share the group’s decisions with the class and provide supporting information  

 Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down 

 By playing this matching game, students discover activities that affect the quality of our water and alternative activities to minimize that impact. Includes information on watersheds.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Students will learn what a watershed is

• Identify at least 3 human activities that impact our waterways and alternatives

• Understand the cumulative impact of pollution on our waterways

HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED:

• Students play a matching game with a partner

• Students “pollute” a container of water to see how pollution accumulates

• Students identify alternatives to polluting activities

 Should I Flush This?  

In a presentation and discussion, the educator and students learn about the difference of sewer and septic systems and how our behaviors can either help or harm our plumbing, septic, and sewer systems. The discussion will walk through the wastewater treatment system following the water as it leaves houses and businesses to pipes, treatment plants and then to the Puget Sound. Students will learn how much water they use each day, what impacts they make and best management practices for disposing of everyday items. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Describe what happens to water once it leaves a typical house/business in Kitsap County

• Understand the need/value of wastewater treatment

• List items used to treat wastewater

• Name 4 items that should go down the toilet

• Understand how household water systems fit within the water cycle

 HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED:

 Where Does the Rain Go? 

Through this field trip on school property students learn the difference between storm drains and sewers; what watershed their school is in; and where the rain goes when it hits the ground. Includes a map of the school’s watershed.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Identify the school’s watershed

• Name at least two ways storm drains and sewers are different

• Name three everyday activities that can pollute our water