By Phaela Peck and Nikki Muench
When summer officially started for us back in June, we breathed a sigh of relief. We had taught a record-breaking number of students and now we had the time to reflect on what went well and where there could be improvements for both classroom lessons and field trips. But as the summer months stretched on, several of us (Nikki in particular) were getting antsy that school wasn’t starting yet. It was too quiet in the office! Inevitably, we will come to miss those quiet reflective days when we’re hosting students on the 20th field trip of the year, but we’re very excited that we’re kicking off another packed and exciting program schedule for the school year.
While August and September marked the beginning of the school year for students, it also marked the welcoming of a new education staff member, Anne Bremer, who will be joining The Watershed Project for the next 10.5 months for a Climate Corps AmeriCorps fellowship. Anne is returning to her home region of the East Bay after a stint in Southern California attending Pitzer College and working on sustainability programs. Join us in welcoming Anne!
Anne and Nikki, in her new role as Education Coordinator, will lead the charge this year in teaching an estimated 1200+ students across the K-12 range in schools in San Francisco, Oakland and Western Contra Costa County.
TWP’s Ed team is thrilled to report that this year our Wild Oyster’s program is being supported by a NOAA B-WET grant! We’re looking forward to teaching the popular program to over 400 students as a MWEE (“Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences”, which aims to increase student understanding and stewardship of their watersheds through hands-on learning indoors and outside). The team will also be piloting a new middle school version of the program and incorporating critical climate change concepts including ecosystem resilience and ocean acidification. You too can find out what our oyster program is all about by volunteering to monitor oysters .
In addition to Wild Oysters, the team will be teaching a revised and improved Rains to Roots program to four schools in the East Bay and San Francisco. We look forward to educating more youth about stormwater and green infrastructure in advance of what will hopefully be another wet winter.
When we’re not dreaming up rain gardens or counting oysters, you’ll find the Ed team exploring creeks, watching birds in the marshes and educating people of all ages about marine debris and how we can all play a role in reducing our impact on our oceans. Join us for a cleanup or volunteer workday.
Are you interested in supporting our education program? Did you know that buses are very expensive and lack of affordable and convenient transportation is one of the largest barriers to getting kids into nature? You can help by donating towards a bus! Just leave a comment that you would like your donation to be go towards bus funding and you will be helping TWP develop and nurture the next generation of watershed stewards. Thank you for your interest and direct support of our programs!
