During the COVID-19 emergency, Project WET has made some of its award-winning activities available free to parents and educators during this time to ensure everyone has resources to continue learning. Students can visit Discover Water, an interactive site to explore the role of water in their lives.
Project WET is a national supplementary water education program for educators -- public and private school teachers, youth club leaders, museum staff and other community educators. DEQ supports volunteer facilitators who lead workshops in communities. Some materials, such as Clean and Conserve, can be downloaded for free or ordered directly from national Project WET.
Water Topics
Topics include: water science, cultural and historical uses of water, and contemporary water management issues such as stormwater, water conservation, flooding and nonpoint source pollution. Professionally developed teaching aids are hands-on, self-contained, and user-friendly. Special emphasis is given to understanding the needs for water by all water users and the need for wise water management.
Project WET curricula are used to implement "meaningful watershed educational experiences" (MWEE). Activities can be used to prepare, assess and debrief field investigations.
Available Project WET resources:
Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide 2.0 is a 592-page book with lessons for K-12 science, math, social studies and language arts. These guides are available in six-hour teacher training workshops. Other curricula can be purchased online: Wonder of Wetlands; Healthy Water/Healthy People (water quality), Discover a Watershed Manager, and Conserve Water. - If you want to schedule a WET workshop, please contact Jill Hrynciw or a certified educator near you.
- Visit the Project WET store to order publications, maps, student booklets and the curriculum guides.
- See Virginia Science Standards of Learning correlated activities and Virginia adaptations to Incredible Journey and Common Water.
Sponsors
DEQ, in conjunction with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, leads the program. Workshops are hosted by local sponsors including local Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The Water Resources Research Center maintains a online directory of certified water educators who can help deliver training and implement MWEEs.