3rd Annual Stream Cleaner Environmental Forum Open to High School Students, Environmental Leaders
February 2008 -- Cacapon Institute will hold its third annual Stream Cleaner Environmental Forum this spring, an internet-based watershed education activity for high school classes. In the SCE Forum, students take on the various roles of stakeholders, consensus builders and problem solvers in a moderated, peer-to-peer, multi-state dialogue seeking solutions to non-point source pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
This year, Jeffrey Lape, director of the Chesapeake Bay Program, tells participating students “Why You Matter” and offers this challenge:
"You are the fresh minds who can sort through what policymakers and scientists have been struggling with for decades. This is your chance to find new and innovative solutions to answer the age-old question of how to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and halt the decades of pollution our waterways have endured.”
The SCE Forum fosters critical thinking on real issues relevant to students' lives and teaches societal decision-making in the context of watershed science and protection. When coupled with a hands-on outreach, conservation or research project, the SCE Forum is part of a complete Meaningful Watershed Education Experience (a requirement in D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia schools).
The Cacapon Institute, with 25 years experience using science and education to protect rivers and watersheds, offers technical resources and will help participating schools secure funds and materials for projects.
The SCE Forum is available online for up to 30 high school classes -- urban, suburban or rural -- anywhere in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The lessons are available online now, with the dialogue running from March 31 through April 25, 2008. Classes should devote 45-60 minutes of class time to the activity twice a week during the dialogue phase. Elementary and middle school students can also take part in online activities at the Potomac Highlands Watershed School.
The SCE Forum also invites watershed leaders and conservationists to use its off-the-shelf lessons and activities to engage students in local watershed issues. Environmental groups can speak to a high school class about their work and mentor students about the importance of civic engagement for solving problems.
To learn more about the SCE Forum, visit the SCE Forum website, e-mail Frank Rodgers or call (304) 856-1385.