The Treating & Teaching program is a collaborative partnership between the Anacostia Watershed Society, Clean Water Partnership (CWP), Low Impact Development Center, Prince George’s County Public Schools and many programmatic and design/build partners. The program transforms school yard spaces into outdoor learning spaces and stormwater mitigation spaces through the implementation of outdoor classrooms and Best Management Practices (BMPs) such as rain gardens, biorientation areas,permeable pavement etc. Launched in 2016, this innovative program connects stormwater management solutions with student learning and environmental literacy curricula.
AWS leads the curricular and programmatic opportunities for the program in partnership with other environmental education groups such as the Maryland Association of Environmental and Outdoor Education, The William S Schmidt Outdoor Education Center, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
The “Teaching” side of the Treating and Teaching program connects schools with the resources to embed or increase watershed health and outdoor learning curriculum.
Resulting in:
- Increased understanding of stormwater runoff and the threat it poses to local waterways across the district as well as local solutions
- Professional Development for teachers to ensure both curricular integration, as well as sustainability of built projects
- Student opportunities to explore stormwater pollution reduction practices and improve environmental literacy
- Resources to support continued curriculum integration of watershed wellness topics
Participating schools receive:
- Stormwater Mitigation BMP installations in the school yard
- An outdoor learning classroom
- Professional development for teachers to learn how to use the new outdoor classroom space and connect students to the natural spaces at their school and environmental literacy topics
- Intro to stormwater pollution and mitigation class session led by AWS educators
- Student field trip opportunities to explore their watershed.
- Funding for resources that advance environmental literacy.
Schools are key sites for stormwater management projects because they have large parking lots and roof tops that create a high volume of stormwater runoff. Schools are also central hubs for citizens and students, making them ideal demonstration sites for public awareness. Therefore, schools provide a unique opportunity for Prince George’s County to connect the stormwater projects installed on school grounds with the environmental curriculum that supports the State’s Environmental Literacy graduation requirement.
Program Partners:
- The Clean Water Partnership
- Prince George’s County Public Schools William S. Schmidt Center
- Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education
- Chesapeake Bay Foundation
- Low Impact Development Center
- Neighborhood Design Center
- Bradley Site Design
- PG Department of the Environment
More Information
For more information about this program, please contact our Director of Education and Outreach, Kendra Bierman, at kbierman@anacostiaws.org.
