Grant #317

Watershed Education Initiative

Sierra Nevada Journeys’ Watershed Education Initiative (WEI) is a two-part, hands-on education program designed to help students understand their local watershed, human impacts on water systems, and strategies for watershed protection. The program begins with an online orientation and an in-class lesson led by educators, using interactive activities such as building watershed models to spark interest in science. It culminates in a three-hour field study at local sites, including Oxbow Nature Study Area, Galena Creek Regional Park, and McCarran Ranch Preserve, where students investigate the Truckee River Watershed through observation, data collection (such as studying macroinvertebrates), and analysis of river health. The initiative also builds critical thinking and social-emotional skills, supports teachers with extension lessons and materials, engages families through field trip participation, and promotes community involvement. With a strong equity focus, the program prioritizes schools serving students with the highest financial and learning needs and aims to reach approximately 700 students in 26 classrooms across the Truckee River Watershed.

TMWA Benefit:

The Watershed Education Initiative benefits TMWA by protecting the Truckee River at its source, public understanding and behavior. By educating students, families, and teachers within the Truckee River Watershed, the program helps reduce future threats to water quality upstream of TMWA’s water treatment plants and hydroelectric intakes. Over time, this translates to lower pollutant loads, fewer preventable impacts, and broader community support for watershed protection efforts that directly safeguard municipal drinking water supplies.

VI. Stewardship and Environmental Awareness:

  • WEI directly fulfills this priority by providing place-based education focused on water quality, watershed protection, and river health within the Truckee River system.
  • Students learn how human activities affect water quality, including erosion, pollution, and land-use impacts, issues that directly affect TMWA’s source water.
  • Field investigations (macroinvertebrate sampling, river observations, erosion assessment) explicitly link ecological indicators to drinking water quality, reinforcing stewardship that benefits TMWA customers.
  • The program extends beyond students by engaging:
    • Teachers (through extension lessons and classroom resources)
    • Families (as field trip chaperones)
    • Community volunteers
      This broadens watershed literacy across the community TMWA serves.
  • By prioritizing underserved schools, WEI builds inclusive, long-term community support for water protection, critical for sustaining regional water-quality investments.