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"I liked the discovery process offered, the tempo of teaching was
well paced, students were able to leave a legacy, a lasting impact and
make a difference." - Moscow Teacher
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Festival Goals:
- Increase student, teacher, and citizen awareness and knowledge of
local watershed ecology and the environmental/social issues affecting
it.
- Enhance participant skills to actively address the issues affecting
their watershed.
- Connect local water resource professionals with their schools and
community.
- Sustain existing partnerships and build new ones between PCEI and
local/regional/national organizations, agencies, and businesses.
Audience
The audience for the Watershed Festival includes approximately 200 4th
grade students from Moscow area schools. In addition, approximately 8
teachers, 16 parent volunteers, 7-10 local water resource
professionals, and 16 community volunteers participate in the
festival.
Event Design
Students learn about our local watershed by rotating through 5
educational stations. Local water resource professionals facilitate
each 35-minute station with groups of 15-24 students. Stations include
the following:
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Macroinvertebrate Monitoring – the bugs and water quality connection
John Pfieffer of EcoAnalysts, Inc., leads students in sampling
macroinvertebrates from a local stream to determine water quality.
Students investigate the samples they collect to discover an aquatic
community of insects. Back at tables, the students pick through the
water to group and identify the macroinvertebrates they find.
Microscopes provide a closer peek into the life of these creatures. |
One boy thinks hard about water! |
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Water: Where does it come from? Where does it go? -- Understanding
our city water cycle
An educator demonstrates how our city water cycle works using models and
hands-on activities. Students learn about the two aquifers where Moscow
gets its water. |
Children playing a predator/prey game. |
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Riparian Wildlife – see and learn about the creatures that live along
water corridors
A naturalist leads this hands-on station where kids learn about the
wildlife that depend on riparian corridors along the Palouse River and
Paradise Creek. |
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Painting elements of the water cycle – individual expression
Students create their own version of the water cycle using various
artistic media therefore combining science with art. |
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Stream Restoration – a fun-filled tree-planting experience
The PCEI Watersheds Program Staff teach students the importance of
stream ecology by having them participate in a real-life stream and
riparian restoration project. Students annually plant approximately
500 native trees and shrubs including ponderosa pine, quaking aspen,
woods rose, serviceberry, and hawthorn. |
Our Watershed Festival Sponsors
We would like to thank all of our festival sponsors:
- Idaho
Project WET
- Idaho Department of Fish and Game
- Wheatberries Bake Shop
- Port-0-Go
- Moscow School District #281
- EcoAnalysts, Inc.
- University of Idaho Resource Recreation and Tourism
- Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
- US Environmental Protection Agency
- City of Moscow
- Stookey’s
- PCEI Members and Volunteers
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