As the school year begins for students across Bucks County and the surrounding area, some local teachers will be bringing new environmental knowledge into their classrooms thanks to a hands-on professional development workshop co-hosted by Heritage Conservancy.
MWEE Professional Development
This past May, Heritage Conservancy partnered with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to host a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) professional development workshop at Nockamixon State Park. We help run these training sessions each year.
Led by Shannon Fredebaugh-Siller, Heritage Conservancy’s Director of Education and Community Programs, the workshop brought together 23 teachers and educational staff, ranging from 1st grade through AP high school, for a day of hands-on training and exploration focused on watershed education.
Educators gather in the Environmental Education building at Nockamixon State Park for an introduction before field experiences.
Watershed Education in the Classroom
The goal of the training was to help educators gain confidence using the MWEE as a framework for cross-curricular watershed education, strengthen partnerships that support K–12 environmental literacy, and connect them with valuable watershed education resources and local partners. The MWEE framework and materials were developed by NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). This approach directly supports Pennsylvania’s new STEELS standards, which went into effect in July. The “ELS” component (Environmental Literacy and Sustainability) emphasizes helping students connect with their local environment, investigate real-world issues in their communities, and, most importantly, work together to design solutions and take meaningful action through hands-on projects.
By the end of the workshop, teachers and support staff left feeling more equipped to bring meaningful watershed learning into their classrooms and communities.
What is a Watershed and Why Does it Matter?
A watershed is an area of land where all precipitation (rain, snow, or runoff) collects and drains into a common body of water such as a stream, river, or lake. In Bucks County and the surrounding region, each of our subwatersheds (Neshaminy and Cooks Creek watersheds) ultimately feeds into the Delaware River.
Healthy watersheds provide countless benefits. They play a critical role in stormwater management, filtering pollutants, maintaining ecological balance, and so much more. This makes watershed education especially relevant to our region, where land use, development, and a changing climate continue to shape the landscape.
Educators placed thumbtacks where their schools were located in their respective watershed areas.
Experiential Learning
The day’s most memorable moments came during the field experiences, where participants split into two groups:
On the water: Some educators explored the lake by kayak, observing the watershed from a new perspective and conducting water quality research with the guidance of Katie Martens and Rachel Nazaruk, Environmental Education Specialists with PA DCNR.
On the land: Others conducted hands-on research in a stream that emptied into Lake Nockamixon by sampling aquatic macroinvertebrates and testing water quality. This group of educators was led by Shannon Fredebaugh-Siller and Beth Clark, Education Programs Associate at Heritage Conservancy.
Comparing collected samples of aquatic macroinvertebrates to the identification materials.
Teachers tested dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, and nitrate/nitrite levels to evaluate the stream’s health. By identifying certain macroinvertebrates (any animal lacking a backbone and large enough to see without the aid of a microscope), teachers were able to evaluate water quality because some macroinvertebrates are more tolerant to pollution than others.
We were honored to welcome such a passionate group of educators representing the following schools and districts:
- Quakertown Community School District
- Council Rock School District
- Bensalem School District
- Plumstead Christian School
- Pennridge School District
- River Valley School
- Centennial School District
The group getting ready for field exploration with an intro from Katie Martins, PA DCNR.
Their commitment to growing environmental literacy ensures that future generations will better understand and care for the watersheds in our regions. And the impact of a training like this is exponential, as each participant shares this knowledge with dozens – or potentially hundreds – of others, including both students and colleagues.
Heritage Conservancy is proud to connect educators with resources, training, and experiences that strengthen the bond between students and the natural world. By investing in teacher development today, we’re helping build a future where conservation is part of every classroom.
These programs were supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Environmental Education grant. Heritage Conservancy was awarded $30,000 for “Utilizing the MWEE Framework to Integrate Environmental Literacy Across the Bucks County Curriculum” to host two teacher professional development training sessions, adapt existing educational resources to address local needs, and develop an online resource page to support teachers. You can learn more about the grant here.