This training program, now in its second year, is a collaboration with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality funded by a B-WET grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The goal of the program is to train non-formal educators, such as Master Naturalist volunteers, State Park interpreters, and Soil and Water Conservation District educators, in both the content and process of a Meaningful Watershed Education Experience (MWEE.)
According to the Chesapeake Bay Act, every school child in Virginia is required to have a MWEE. A true MWEE is an in-depth learning experience that involves preparation, action, and reflection. Students might learn about watersheds in the classroom, spend time outdoors measuring water quality or doing other action-oriented activities, and then do follow-up activities back in the classroom. The idea is that students will understand that they live in a watershed (everyone does!) and that their actions can influence the health of the watershed.
We now have nearly two dozen Master Naturalists who have completed the Watershed Educators Institute. Their job now is to provide training for classroom teachers and also other Master Naturalists in how to conduct a MWEE. Master Naturalists are well-poised to help classroom teachers meet the MWEE mandate because they are comfortable in the outdoors and have knowledge about watersheds, water quality, macroinvertebrates, wetlands, and other topics from their training and volunteer activities. Master Naturalists in many chapters have been assisting with MWEEs, especially the field activities. For example, Fairfax Master Naturalists assisted Hidden Oaks Nature Center in providing approximately 1000 7th-graders a MWEE field experience at a local park. Likewise, Master Naturalists from the Central Rappahannock and Riverine Chapters have assisted with MWEEs for Hanover-Caroline County schools, and Rivanna Master Naturalists help conduct field stations for MWEEs in Albemarle County.
Meanwhile, the Virginia Master Naturalist graduates of the 2011 and 2012 Watershed Educators Institute will be working with classroom teachers, both one-on-one and through workshops, to share their knowledge and help get every Virginia youth connected to his or her watershed. We will have a MWEE session at this year's Virginia Master Naturalist Statewide Conference and Volunteer Training in September so that we can encourage and prepare more Virginia Master Naturalists to assist with this important effort.
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