Watershed Education Programs

New for the 2006/07 school year- Salt Lake City has collaborated with multiple institutions to create 4 th and 9 th grade 'place-based' water science activity guides! Both of these are available to educators in the Salt Lake Valley free of charge!

The watershed education staff here at Salt Lake City Public Utilities is available to help in the classroom and with field days. We also have all of the activity materials prepared for your use-just call! (801) 483-6884.

Wasatch Front Watershed 4-th Grade Activity Guide

The Keep It Pure Wasatch Front Watershed Activity Guide was designed to give educators a water science curriculum that is tied to the 4 th grade Utah core education and contains clear, thorough lesson plans with detailed prep lists and a consistent layout. It is structured around a coherent instructional model and is place-based with a specific focus on the Jordan River Watershed to give students a sense of place and stewardship for their local watersheds.

As a number of the activities in this guide were adapted from Project WET International activities, the activity guide is copy written and not available on our website. If you are an educator and interested in obtaining the activity guide, please call (801) 483-6884.

Training workshops for the 'Keep It Pure Wasatch Front Watershed Activity Guide' are free of charge, hosted by the Utah Society for Environmental Education, and are offered in February of each year.

Jordan River Watershed: Wasatch Front Supplement to Stream Side Science: Lesson Plans and Water Related Activities for 9 th Grade Earth Systems Science

The 11 activities in Stream Side Science bring a water focus to a set of standards and objectives in the Utah State Core Curriculum for 9 th grade Earth Systems Science. These hands-on activities help students learn the basic concepts of Earth Systems Science while exploring their local watershed and water quality issues. Our 9 th grade activity guide is a 'place-based' addendum to the fantastic Stream Side Science Curriculum created by Utah State University's Water Quality Extension. This addendum is specific to water related issues in the Jordan River Watershed (Salt Lake Valley).

Each lesson plan contains background information, step by step instructions for the activity, suggestions for applying the data, and further discussion questions. Student worksheets, sampling instructions, and teacher resource pages are provided.

It is necessary to have a copy of the Stream Side Science curriculum in order to use the Jordan River Watershed addendum. To obtain a copy of Stream Side Science you may visit the USU Water Quality website for an online copy http://extension.usu.edu/waterquality/index.cfm or call Salt Lake City Public Utilities at (801) 483-6884 for a copy of both.

Training workshops for 'Jordan River Watershed: Wasatch Front Supplement to Stream Side Science' are free of charge, hosted by the Utah Society for Environmental Education and USU Water Quality Extension, and are offered in November of each year.

4th Grade Teacher Workshop Power Point Presentation

Field Components

4-th Grade Field Components

The Cottonwood Canyons Foundation with Salt Lake City Public Utilities offer winter snowshoeing field trips at the Spruces Campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon and fall fieldtrips at Silver Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon for 4 th grade aged students.

All fieldtrips are free of charge and tied to the Utah Core Curriculum Standards as well as the 'Keep It Pure Wasatch Front Watershed Activity Guide'. For more information or to sign up for a trip, please call the Public Lands Information Center or visit the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation online at cottonwoodcanyons.org.

Link to 'Pre and Post' activities for CCF Winter Snowshoeing Field Trips

9 th Grade Field Components

The staff here at Salt Lake City Public Utilities Watershed Division are here to help you with your field days! Let us know if you need our assistance and expertise to successfully plan and execute your field day! We have all of the field materials needed to for the Stream Side Science Curriculum as well as the Jordan River Watershed Addendum available for you to check out and use.

Education Contact Information

Salt Lake City Public Utilities

General: (801) 483-6700

Watershed Education - Vanessa Welsh (801) 483-6884

Address: 1530 South West Temple

Salt Lake City, UT 84115

Cottonwood Canyons Foundation

General: (801) 947-8263

Fieldtrip Reservation Line: (801) 466-6411

Email: info@cottonwoodcanyons.org

Web: http://www.cottonwoodcanyons.org

Utah Society for Environmental Education

General: (801) 328-1543

Email: info@usee.org

Web: http://www.usee.org

Utah State University Water Quality Extension

General: (435) 797-2580

Web: http://extension.usu.edu/waterquality/

The "Keep It Pure" Campaign

Watershed Education

Salt Lake City's Department of Public Utilities "Keep It Pure" Watershed Education Campaign began in response to recommendations outlined in the City's 1999 Watershed Management Plan. Our primary goal is to create awareness, educate, build stewardship and change behavior to protect our drinking water sources in City Creek, Parleys, Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood Canyons. We ultimately want our students, community and visitors to know and care about the answers to the following questions:

1. Where does my drinking water come from?

2. Why is watershed protection important?

What can I do to protect my drinking water?

To accomplish this goal, in part, the Watershed Management Division of Salt Lake City Public Utilities collaborated with the Utah Society for Environmental Education, Utah State University, Consortium West, the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation, Project WET International as well as Alta, Snowbird, Brighton and Solitude Ski resorts to create two water science curriculum, one for 4 th grade and one for 9 th . These two curricula are tied to the Utah State Board of Education's Core Curriculum Standards.

Back to home