CBT tries out new water stewardship program in schools
Posted on 02. Nov, 2010 by Chris Shepherd in Environment |
PRESS RELEASE from the Columbia Basin Trust
Students check out a creek as part of the Know Your Watershed pilot. Photo submitted.
Grade 8 science students at six schools across the Columbia Basin were among the first to take part in Know Your Watershed, a new regionally-based water stewardship initiative of Columbia Basin Trust (CBT).
“CBT recognizes the importance of actively engaging youth in water issues in the Basin, “said Neil Muth, CBT president and CEO. “Through this program we are trying to show students the important role water plays in our lives. We want students to start thinking about where their water comes from, how it’s used and where it goes, and to start to think about how they can conserve and protect this resource.”
Participating schools include Rossland Secondary School (Rossland), Golden Secondary School (Golden), David Thompson Senior Secondary School (Invermere), Fernie Secondary School (Fernie), W.E. Graham Community School (Slocan City) and Nakusp Senior Secondary (Nakusp). Know Your Watershed is free for participating schools and supplements the Grade 8 science curriculum (Prescribed Learning Outcomes – Earth and Space Science: Water Systems on Earth and BC Ministry of Education Environmental Learning and Experience Framework).
Two classroom sessions and a full-day field trip, tailored to individual communities, offered students a first-hand understanding of water in their community. With the sessions now complete, students are taking what they learned from Know Your Watershed and applying it outside the classroom through action projects. Some students are implementing new water conservation habits at home, while others may organize a water-related event in their school or their community.
Photo submitted.
“Water is an important part of our past and our future,” added Muth. “We want students to have an informed perspective so they can begin to decide how they can effectively play a part in addressing current and future water issues.”
Feedback from students who participated in Know Your Watershed this fall will help CBT plan its approach to engage more students around water and water issues in the future. This hands-on, curriculum-based learning opportunity could eventually be available across the Basin.
Experienced environmental educators delivered this hands-on program which was funded by CBT and developed and delivered in cooperation with the Wildsight education team.
CBT is committed to working with Basin residents to improve their understanding of and involvement in water issues. Know Your Watershed is one of several water stewardship projects funded and delivered by CBT. CBT is also working in areas related to water quality, water quantity, water governance and transboundary water issues.
Visit their website for more information on CBT’s water initiatives.
2 Responses to “CBT tries out new water stewardship program in schools”
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CBT should be speaking out against clear-cut logging in watersheds if this is a concern of theirs
I doubt CBT will ever oppose logging. It would be bad optics and with a communications department the size of a small army, optics are more important to them than any single issue we might face as residents of the Columbia Basin.
If you don’t believe me, think about how much they spend on the Report to Residents each year and how many trees got cut down so it could be delivered to all our doors. This happens at the same time they power servers that deliver the same material on demand.
We will continue to see programs like the one in this article but don’t expect CBT to come out swinging on contentious issues.
They prefer to skip and jump and press wild flowers while many struggle to make a living in the Basin.