Education Programs
Environmental education is at the core of everything we do.
We work with students and educators in the Southeastern U.S. to create an immersive education experience, whether that means bringing the field to the classroom or the classroom to the field. Our programs deepen the connection between our own daily lives and the health of our environment.
Featured Programs
Stream Team
Stream Teams are comprised of environmentally-minded students who meet regularly during the school year and explore their local waterway. Our groups focus on asking questions and creating solutions for improving the health of their stream. At Stream Team, kids get to dip their toes in real-world science. Our team will help teach the students about the basics of water quality testing, flow measurement, macro-invertebrate sampling, common creek restoration methods, and the ecosystem as a whole.
Click the button to view our stream team guide for more details.
Field Trips
WaterWays offers immersive outdoor education experiences. Our field trips are suited for either a half-day or whole-day experience. Each trip is tailored to how long your group would like to be there, the subject/s chosen, and the number of classes. Most of our trips include hiking, whether it is just to get from one place to another or a part of the trip itself. All of our trips include hands-on, evidence-based learning with plenty of time to explore and investigate the natural world.
Click the button to view our field trip guide for more details.
Check out our other program offerings below.
Contact Brooke@mywaterways.org for more information about education programs and opportunities.
Education Outreach
WaterWays offers environmental education opportunities in the classroom, creek, and virtually! Education outreach programs are typically 30 minutes to one hour in length and will include a brief introduction of the topic & vocabulary, followed by an activity. Topics can be combined for hour-long programs, or extensions can be added to a single topic. We charge $100.00 per hour for on-campus programs (prices vary for Title 1 schools). For groups exceeding 25 persons per hour, field trip rates apply.
Program
Description
Age
Indoor/Outdoor
Critters in the Creek
Beneath the stream, under rock and gravel, lives a diverse world of macroinvertebrates live under rock and gravel. These animals are great indicator species and are tools in water quality assessment. The critters in the creek program are designed to allow students to explore their local creeks while learning about bioindicators and biodiversity. This program is best suited for schools with creeks on their campus.
All Ages
Outdoor Program only
Critters in the Classroom
Let us bring the critters to you! This program is ideal for schools without creeks on their campuses. WaterWays staff can bring an aquarium with collected critters to your classroom! We can discuss morphology, habitat, and life cycles!
All Ages
Indoor Program
Water Quality
pH, DO, Nitrates, Phosphates, Turbidity, E.Coli – oh my! All of these tests help us determine the health of our aquatic systems. Students will learn to access water quality at their local streams and creeks using LaMotte test kits.
5th – 12th grade
Outdoor Program
What’s a Watershed?
What’s a watershed? Using a model watershed called an Enviroscape, students will see how a watershed functions and how humans can impact it. This is best suited for elementary but can be modified for upper-grade levels.
Best suited for K-6th grade
Indoor/Outdoor Program
Water Pollution
Who dirtied the water? The topic of pollution can be suitable for all ages. We have several hands-on STEM activities for the pre-k to the 5th-grade range. For Middle and HS, we suggest pairing this topic with a presentation and water quality testing.
All Ages
Best suited for Outdoors, can be modified for an indoor program or presentation
Erosion Explosion
This topic is for those who need real-life erosion examples. We will take your classes around campus, looking for erosion examples. We can add a game and STEM activity to round out the topic.
3rd – 6th
Outdoor Program
Food Webs
How does aquatic health impact the food web? We have a great Act-IT-Out game for imagining the structure of a food web. Pair with an owl pellet dissection for students will look at a predator’s diet.
4th – 7th
Indoor/Outdoor Program
Incredible Journey
The Incredible Journey is a Project Wet activity that lets you imagine the life of a drop of water and how it moves through the water cycle and changes forms. This is a movement game that is great for young kids!
K – 5th
Indoor/Outdoor Program
Stormwater
How does stormwater impact the ecosystem? This program can be suited for elementary, middle school, and high school students. Younger groups will follow the storm and explore their campus’s stormwater infrastructure. Older students will learn how to calculate runoff on campus.
All Ages
Outdoor Program
Green Infrastructure
This topic is for classes with background knowledge in watersheds, pollution, and stormwater infrastructure. We will use models to illustrate the positive impact of green infrastructure.
6th – 12th
Best suited for Outdoors, can be modified for an indoor program or presentation
After School Clubs
Have an existing environmental club at your school but need some help with facilitating? WaterWays staff can help plan and lead after-school clubs!
All Ages
Outdoor Program
Participating Schools in WaterWays programming and Outreach: Allen Elementary, Barger Academy, Bess T. Shepherd Elementary, Battle Academy, Brainerd High School, Central High, Calvin Donaldson Elementary, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, Clifton Hills Elementary, CSAS, Dalewood Middle, East Brainerd Elementary, East Lake Academy, East Lake Elementary, East Ridge Elementary, East Ridge Middle, Eastside Elementary, Hardy Elementary, Harrison Elementary, Hixson Elementary, Howard Connect Academy, Loftis Middle, Lookout Valley Elementary, McConnell Elementary, Middle Valley Elementary, Nolan Elementary, Normal Park Elementary, Thrasher Elementary, Ooltewah Elementary, Ooltewah Middle, Orchard Knob Elementary, Red Bank Elementary, Red Bank High, Signal Mountain Christian, Silverdale Baptist Academy, Spring Creek Elementary, Tyner Middle Academy, Wauhatchie Forest School, Wolftever Elementary, Woodmore Elementary, Young Explorer Society Homeschool Program.
Our Supporters
Special thanks to our supporters City of Chattanooga Water Quality Department, Hamilton County Water Quality Department, Town of Signal, Enterprise South Nature Park, and Volkswagen of Chattanooga.
A special thank you to Tennessee American Waters for the founding grant for our Green Team program and their continued support of WaterWays’ education initiatives in the greater Chattanooga area.
