TO DO

Contact GSWA for more information on the GSWA's Education and Outreach Program at 973.966.1900 or everything@greatswamp.org. Check GSWA's web-site for additional information on GSWA.

The Great Swamp Watershed Association, a private, non-profit organization headquartered in Madison, New Jersey, has prepared this teacher’s resource guide so that area teachers can introduce their students to the natural and cultural resources of the Great Swamp and its watershed, helping to instill in them a sense of place and stewardship for their environment. Learning about these resources will help students see the role we all play in our watershed, develop respect for their local environment, and learn about actions they can take to protect it.

This resource guide provides information on the following:

• Definition of a watershed and location of the Great Swamp watershed
• The natural and human history of the Great Swamp Watershed
• Threats to the Great Swamp watershed
• What you can do to protect the watershed
• Teacher resources (field trips, web sites, workshops, etc.)

Many pages of the guide contain a side bar with definitions of new terms, a "TO DO" list of suggested activities that complement material on that page, and graphics that help illustrate the concepts being discussed.

In addition to this guide, the GSWA Education and Outreach Program provides several services for area teachers and students. The program staff offers Project WET (Watershed Education for Teachers) workshops free of charge two to three times per school year. These workshops provide teachers with a hands-on introduction to the nationally acclaimed Project WET curriculum which contains over 90 activities focusing on water education. Program staff, along with GSWA member volunteers, also make classroom presentations using the Association’s 2'x4' replica of a watershed (pictured at left). The watershed model provides an excellent way to demonstrate the causes of point and non-point source pollution, and the many ways that these types of pollution can be prevented. Finally, the GSWA office maintains a small resource library of free materials on watersheds, wetlands, point and non-point source pollution, etc.

¹ Much of the information included in this publication has been culled from Saving Space:  The Great Swamp Watershed Greenway and Open Space Plan, by Karen Parrish and Anthony Walmsley, personal communications with local citizens, and web sites of environmental organizations.

Copyright 2000. Great Swamp Watershed Association.