Watershed Health

Coastal Ecology—Watershed Health

Summary: The health of watersheds can be affected by a myriad of factors, and watershed councils and managers often must prioritize issues and projects for local regions. In this topic guide, students connect with local watershed councils to identify, learn more about, and participate in the resolution of current local watershed issues. Because issues will vary from place to place, examples are provided as a guide.

Concepts to teach: Place-based education, community organizations, public communication, resource management

Goals: Students understand and can explain an issue affecting the local the local watershed, and can identify, propose and/or participate in concrete solutions to the issue.

Standards:
H.2E.4

Specific Objectives:

1. Meet with and interview representatives from local watershed organizations, land managers, or other community members who are involved with maintaining and improving the health of the local watershed.
2. Propose or take part in activities that address local watershed health issues.

Activity Links and Resources:

• Oregon Watershed Enchancement Board (OWEB)
  • An Overview of Oregon Watershed Councils
  • Find your local watershed council and get involved.
  • How Watershed Assessments are conducted and used
• EPA Surf Your Watershed provides a variety of information about your local watershed and and organizations that may be working on projects related to watershed health in your area. Type in your zip code find “Citizen-based Groups at work” in your watershed.
• Oregon Explorer—Use this natural resources digital library to find issues, actions, maps and data from wetlands around the state.
• Bureau of Land Management Environmental Education highlights a variety of ways students throughout the state participate in projects focusing on watershed health.
• Conduct water quality studies as described in the Macroinvertebrates and Salmon Studies topic guides. Report findings to local watershed council.

Assessment:

• Honoring our Rivers—The Honoring Our Rivers student anthology project showcases Oregon student writing and artwork focused on rivers and watersheds. From poetry to prose and fiction, from illustration to photography, students from across the state submit their work to a juried-review process and finalists appear before the public in an annual anthology and at exhibits, events and readings hosted by Honoring Our Rivers.
  • Address a local watershed issue in a piece submitted to Honoring our Rivers.