Watershed Education Initiative (WEI)

Through this funding, SNJ will serve 675 students in 25 classrooms throughout northern Nevada. Conducted over a four-week period, WEI includes three in-class lessons, one field-study experience, pre- and post-assessments, classroom extension lessons for teachers, family and community engagement, and citizen science. Curriculum developed and delivered by SNJ’s team of credentialed teachers aligns to state and national standards and the North American Association for Environmental Education’s Guidelines for Excellence.

TMWA Benefit:

This program satisfies the TRF Grant Priority VI – Stewardship and Environmental Awareness.

WEI is an education program that addresses water, water quality and watershed protection for K-8th grade students, directly aligning with grant priority VI. Students gain first-hand experience with the Truckee River, explore human impacts on their water source, and obtain skills and knowledge to help protect the watershed. WEI advances this priority effectively because of whom it serves and how. Elementary childhood is a critical time during which a person’s role as an environmental steward is developed. Studies show that adults with environmental awareness had at least one transcendent experience in nature when they were children, fostering their interest in environmental protection. The need to increase access to these experiences is strong.