Thanks to Turtle Island Restoration Network’s hard work, and funding provided by the NOAA BWET grant, this years Summer Salmon Institute was a huge success. Teachers spent the week learning about hands on watershed education and its links to the newly adopted Next Generation Science Standards. Each teacher worked collaboratively to develop a 6-8 week unit plan centered around the decline of the coho salmon population in the Lagunitas Creek Watershed in Marin County, Calif. These units will be implemented during the 2014-15 school year, and will provide students across the Bay Area with the opportunity to participate in hands on watershed sciences.

Turtle Island had great support from outside organizations who presented curriculum to support each teachers unit development. Jennifer Stock, from Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, presented her ‘Winged Ambassadors’ curriculum which was a real hit with the teachers.  Ethan Rotman and Bob Flasher provided links between watershed education in the field and their program Trout in the Classroom. Laura Honda, a teacher from Manor Elementary School in Fairfax, presented the Education, Environment Initiative curriculum. This free curriculum provides a foundation for learning about the environment in the classroom and is easily supplemented with hands on field experiences and activities.

We are excited about how dynamic the program was, and we are looking forward to seeing the results unfold throughout the upcoming year. We already have teachers sharing their final unit plans. We hope this blog will continue to grow as a resource for teachers who are interested in supporting student learning, beyond the classroom walls.

Download a unit outline on the decline of the Coho Salmon here: Unit Outline- Decline of the Coho Salmon

Jennifer Stock, from Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, introduces the Winged Ambassadors curriculum.

Jennifer Stock, from Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, introduces the Winged Ambassadors curriculum.

Preston Brown, SPAWN's Watershed Biologist, works with teachers to test water quality at the Ink Wells.

Preston Brown, SPAWN’s Watershed Biologist, works with teachers to test water quality at the Ink Wells.