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Department of Ecology Press Release - November 3, 2005
05-267
YAKIMA - On Friday, Yakima will host the nation's first bilingual (Spanish and English) teacher workshop for Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Yakima Area Arboretum, Jewett Interpretive Center.
Twenty-five elementary and middle school teachers will attend. The workshop is hosted by the Department of Ecology, (Ecology) Yakima Basin Environmental Education Program, Yakima School District and the U.S. Forest Service.
For 10 years, Washington Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) has used a national award-winning curriculum to tailor workshops to specific local watershed topics. WET explains how water works, where it comes from and where it goes.
"Teachers will participate in activities that illustrate the water systems we all depend upon and how we affect them," explained Rhonda Hunter, environmental education manager for Ecology. "Water is the lifeblood of the Yakima Basin. In addition to being essential to life, the many uses of water give it a critical role in all cultures."
The ultimate goal of Washington Project WET is to educate teachers and students about water and its value in their own local watersheds; developing awareness, critical thinking and problem solving skills in relation to water quality and quantity.
Human relationships to water are a major theme of Project WET. The K-12 activity guide addresses water's quantity and quality, chemical and physical properties, aquatic bugs as indicators of stream health, management strategies, and more. Critical thinking and problem solving skills are fostered while students engage in activities to learn about the water cycle, solve the mystery of a waterborne disease, or discover the cumulative aspects of runoff pollution.
Project WET also helps teachers meet Washington's Essential Academic Learning Requirements. WET integrates across science, math, communications, history and culture, weaving an understanding of our water use and dependence. WET is an excellent foundation curriculum for water quality monitoring projects or stream restoration work.
Project WET is available only through teacher workshops. For information about Yakima area Spanish/English WET teacher workshops, contact Rhonda Hunter at rhun461@ecy.wa.gov or (360) 407-6147.
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Editor's Note: Environmental educator Bob Tuck will be available for media interviews during the workshops at the arboretum.
Media contact: Joye Redfield-Wilder, public information manager, (509) 575-2610
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
