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Watershed Programs of The Academy of Natural Sciences was established to provide a link between the Academy's Museum Division, the Environmental Research Division, and the Division of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology. The mission of this program is to develop education connections for broad audiences relating environmental science with a watershed perspective. This program is developing dynamic links between our natural history collections, the Stroud Water Research Center, the Patrick Center for Environmental Research, and the Estuarine Research Center for teachers, students, and the general public.

Teachers are always looking for interesting and exciting workshop experiences which will help enliven their instruction and programs. Watershed Programs offers a variety of opportunities to meet the needs of individual teachers, their schools or the entire district. Theses programs include:

• Environmental Focus: A teacher enhancement project founded by the National Science Foundation. This three-year program uses watersheds as the focal point to provide middle school teachers in Chester County with a thematic approach to teaching environmental issues and ecological sciences. Pairs of teachers are recruited yearly to participate in a 4-week summer workshop. During the workshop, teachers meet and work with Academy scientists and educatos while learning how to incorporate the local watershed into their curriculum. Participants also gain access to science kits which contain material and equipment to use in the classroom or in the field. This program collaborates with the Chester County Intermediate Unit, providing a wider service to all teachers involved.

• Creative Science Workshop Series: This after school program provides at least 10 hours of hands-on workshops and content sessions. Sessions are offered after school, on Saturdays and in the summer. Workshops focus on watershed-based activities and curriculum enhancement. Recent workshops have been developed in collaboration with:

The School District of Philadelphia

Chestnut Hill College, Eisenhower Grant Program

South Philadelphia Community Civic Association

Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, Philadelphia Water Department

Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center

Chester County Intermediate Unit

The School in Rose Valley

• Leaf Pack Experiment: Streamside forests are extremely important to the ecology of streams. Natural leaf packs commonly form in streams and are important food sources and habitat for aquatic organisms. Academy scientists have assessed the biodiversity and health of stream systems using artificial leaf packs in many watersheds throughout the world. Through the Leaf Pack Experiment, students learn the vital link between streamside forests and stream ecology. This project has been developed into a curriculum packet distributed to 5,000 schools throughout Pennsylvania.

Many programs have been developed to go into local schools providing either classroom activities or events serving the entire school population. The education staff at the Academy's Stroud Water Research Center has been at the forefront of developing unique classroom experiences. Several programs are offered at the Stroud Center providing a unique blend of field experience in the setting of a dynamic research facility. These include:

Trout Egg Experiment: Scientist often use organisms to determine whether a given chemical or mixture of chemicals is toxic, known as a bioassay experiment. In its continuing efforts to make science real to students, the Stroud Center's bioassay uses trout eggs. Students examine first-hand how the hatching success of trout eggs can be used to monitor the extent and effect of water pollution by placing the eggs in local streams and monitoring their survival.

Stream Study: Students participate in a fieldbased, hands-on investigation of the White Clay Creek. Utilizing the Center's 1,800-acre experimental watershed as a living laboratory, students explore the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of streams. Amidst their investigations, students are directly exposed to current, state-of-the-art research findings and techniques. (This program is highly adaptable and can be tailored to suit the specific needs of teachers.)

Investigation of Streamside Forests: This program focuses on the importance of streamside forests as buffer zones influencing stream quality. Activities include tree identification and the use of keys, gathering data along a transect, and assessment of the forest buffer.

Stream Day: This traveling, interactive exhibit based on watersheds is geared towards the upper elementary student. Stream Day introduces students to the biological, chemical, and physical characteristics of streams, rivers and estuaries. Adaptable for schools or community events. The exhibit travels and serves the entire school.

Biodiversity Camp: This five-day summer camp is run in collaboration with the Upland Country Day School. Students aged 10-14 explore the biological diversity of the natural world. Studies include field investigations, use of computer labs, a behind the scenes visit to the Academy of Natural Sciences and a canoe trip down tne Brandywine River.

Work/Study Program: High school students interested in the sciences spend a period of time at the Stroud Center to investigate future career possibilities and areas of study. They witness the day-to-day activities of a research laboratory and have the opportunity to talk with staff in different science disciplines while participating in a variety of experiments. These students put their experiences to work by teaching their peers along side Stroud Center educators and developing leadership skills while furthering their career explorations.

The Academy of Natural Sciences has committed itself toward educating a wide audience throughout the nearly 1,900 square mile Schuylkill River watershed. Over ten counties are connected to this historically significant waterway. As Pennsylvania's first scenic river, the Schuylkill offers a fine opportunity to begin to develop a sense of community and conservation at the watershed level. With funding provided by the Wyomissing, William Penn, and Tortuga Foundations, the Academy has initiated the SchuyL<ill River Watershed Initiative.

The Schuylkill River Watershed Initiative is a combination of research and education programs focusing on a local watershed. In an effort to understand the current water quality issues in the watershed scientists at the Stroud Center monitor nineteen study sites representing all the major tributaries of the mainstem Schuylkill. Quantitative samples of benthic aquatic invertebrates were taken at each site. A summer college student intern program was established to sort and quantify these samples. Academy scientists will issue a report on these findings in the Fall of 1996.

Many of the education programs previously described will provide teachers, students and communities with the information and insight to protect and preserve the Schuylkill River. The Academy has also hosted Spotlight On the Schuylkill, an annual symposium dedicated to the redevelopment and protection of the lower Schuylkill River waterfront. Additionally, our traveling education exhibits are used at Schuylkill Festival and other area watershed festivals

In 1990, Stroud Center staff began an ongoing collaboration with volunteers from the White Clay Creek Watershed Association to implement an innovative and effective biomonitoring program. The collective experiences gained in starting, teaching and implementing the White Clay Creek program have.been formalized and expanded to produce Stream School. Stream School participants sharpen their streamwatch techniques by carrying out a practical water quality monitoring exercise - from sample collection to data analysis to report writing. Citizen volunteers also enhance their knowledge of the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of streams. To date, Stream School has provided training for watershed associations and conservation organizations in three different locations across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

For questions about any of these programs or information about how your group can become involved, please contact one of the following Watershed Programs staff members.

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