Environmental Education & The Delaware River
Importance of Watershed Education
Where does the water come from when you turn on your faucet? Rainwater flows through nature-made filters into natural and man-made water bodies. Which watershed you are in is defined by where your rainwater drains. Chemicals and waste in our yards, parks, and roads flow with the rainwater and can end up in our water reserves. Natural filters like plants, soil, and even animals like clams, can help to filter out pollutants, but there is only so much these filters can hold. It is our responsibility as citizens of our watershed to understand the connection between our actions and their impact on the watershed. Educational programs like SPLASH inform us of the various sources of potential pollutants, the ways in which the environment helps to filter them out, and how we can monitor and improve the health of our watershed.
The Watershed’s Role in STEM Education
Our watershed also plays an important role as a vehicle for teaching about Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) fields. Over 20% of all US jobs are in STEM fields, including jobs with watershed-related applications like environmental science, aquatic bioscience, marine engineering, and water chemistry. Jobs in the STEM field have grown at a rate 3 times higher than non-STEM jobs over the last ten years, but less than 40% of high school graduates in 2013 were prepared for college level science courses. SPLASH offers a way to build excitement around STEM education through hands-on demos and by showing real-world applications of STEM education.
What Makes the Delaware River Watershed Special?
Four different states (PA, NJ, NY, and DE) and over 4 million human inhabitants hold responsibility for the health of this watershed. The watershed is also home to many animals; you’re likely to see geese, ducks, fish, and turtles without looking too hard – and if you’re lucky you’ll spot one of the bald eagles that calls this area home. Two species use our watershed as a very important part of their migration, depending on its health year after year. Every year, red knots fly from the very southern tip of South America up to the Arctic Circle (over 9,000 miles!) with only 2 stops. One stop is in Brazil and the other is in our own watershed! Another amazing migration right in our back yards is that of the American shad. Shad swim upstream from the Atlantic Ocean and into the Delaware River for hundreds of miles every year to spawn. In addition to these amazing animals, the health of 17 million people who drink water from this watershed every day is dependent on those who live, work, and play here; and it is our responsibility to educate ourselves about how to protect and preserve it. Did you know that this section of the river has been designated the Lower Delaware National Wild & Scenic River and is incorporated into the National Park System? (Read more http://www.nps.gov/lode/index.htm)
The watershed also has an important place in history.
The Delaware River was central to settlement of this area in the 17th century. Famously, George Washington crossed the Delaware on Christmas day during the American Revolution. Later, as commerce increased in the area, canals were vital to transporting coal and other commerce between Philadelphia, New York City and other cities in the watershed.
Where does the water come from when you turn on your faucet? Rainwater flows through nature-made filters into natural and man-made water bodies. Which watershed you are in is defined by where your rainwater drains. Chemicals and waste in our yards, parks, and roads flow with the rainwater and can end up in our water reserves. Natural filters like plants, soil, and even animals like clams, can help to filter out pollutants, but there is only so much these filters can hold. It is our responsibility as citizens of our watershed to understand the connection between our actions and their impact on the watershed. Educational programs like SPLASH inform us of the various sources of potential pollutants, the ways in which the environment helps to filter them out, and how we can monitor and improve the health of our watershed.
The Watershed’s Role in STEM Education
Our watershed also plays an important role as a vehicle for teaching about Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) fields. Over 20% of all US jobs are in STEM fields, including jobs with watershed-related applications like environmental science, aquatic bioscience, marine engineering, and water chemistry. Jobs in the STEM field have grown at a rate 3 times higher than non-STEM jobs over the last ten years, but less than 40% of high school graduates in 2013 were prepared for college level science courses. SPLASH offers a way to build excitement around STEM education through hands-on demos and by showing real-world applications of STEM education.
What Makes the Delaware River Watershed Special?
Four different states (PA, NJ, NY, and DE) and over 4 million human inhabitants hold responsibility for the health of this watershed. The watershed is also home to many animals; you’re likely to see geese, ducks, fish, and turtles without looking too hard – and if you’re lucky you’ll spot one of the bald eagles that calls this area home. Two species use our watershed as a very important part of their migration, depending on its health year after year. Every year, red knots fly from the very southern tip of South America up to the Arctic Circle (over 9,000 miles!) with only 2 stops. One stop is in Brazil and the other is in our own watershed! Another amazing migration right in our back yards is that of the American shad. Shad swim upstream from the Atlantic Ocean and into the Delaware River for hundreds of miles every year to spawn. In addition to these amazing animals, the health of 17 million people who drink water from this watershed every day is dependent on those who live, work, and play here; and it is our responsibility to educate ourselves about how to protect and preserve it. Did you know that this section of the river has been designated the Lower Delaware National Wild & Scenic River and is incorporated into the National Park System? (Read more http://www.nps.gov/lode/index.htm)
The watershed also has an important place in history.
The Delaware River was central to settlement of this area in the 17th century. Famously, George Washington crossed the Delaware on Christmas day during the American Revolution. Later, as commerce increased in the area, canals were vital to transporting coal and other commerce between Philadelphia, New York City and other cities in the watershed.