The Anacostia Watershed Society engages K-12 students from Maryland and D.C. in comprehensive learning programs that benefit the Anacostia River and its watershed communities.
Students and teachers participate in watershed education lessons, field experiences on the river, and hands-on restoration activities, such as: community clean-ups, water quality testing, wetland seeding, tree plantings, schoolyard greening and exploration projects, and native fish and mussel population restoration.
Through our watershed experiences and MWEEs (Meaningful Watershed Education Experiences, students are actively involved in positive solutions to local issues. Our standards aligned experiences allow students to deepen their academic skills and make locally relevant connections by integrating classroom education with real-world experiences. These environmental literacy experiences strengthen students’ critical and analytical thinking, scientific reasoning and problem solving, civic engagement and stewardship, social and emotional learning, and connection to nature.
Students also exercise creative skills by participating in design competitions, such as the Mussel Comic Competition and the Mussel T-Shirt Design Competition. Check out this PGCPS Mussel Comic Competition winner, Kierra Dubose from Laurel High School.
We are dedicated to providing our watershed education experiences, free of charge, to under-resourced schools with reduced access to environmental literacy programming. We work with teachers to ensure that the program content and overall message is relevant to the students and the communities in which they live.
Our school-based education programs are aligned with Next Generation Science Standards and tailored to district standards and educator needs.
Get Involved
If you are interested in engaging in any of the our school-based programs please fill out our program interest form.
