Project WET - Water Education for Teachers
Project WET is an international, interdisciplinary water science and education program for educators of all sorts
- public and private school teachers, water resource professionals, youth club leaders and many others. Project
WET workshops are FREE and conducted throughout the state.
Project WET curriculum was developed through collaboration of teachers, scientists and resource professionals.
Project WET correlates with state and nation standards of learning, and strongly supports STEM principles.
Project WET believes that educators hold the key to empowering people to effect sustainable, positive change at
the local level, for the benefit of all water users.
Supported by WVDEP's Watershed Improvement Branch, the Project WET Program addresses atmospheric water, surface
water, groundwater, cultural and historic uses of water, and contemporary management issues such as stormwater
and nonpoint source pollution.
Project WET makes water education fun, and helps educators meet their objectives in an innovative way. The
activities are designed to complement existing curriculum rather than displace or add additional concepts to the
classroom. Project WET activities are interdisciplinary, hands-on, and engaging to make water education fun for
students and teachers.
Project WET staff will work with formal and nonformal educators in public and private schools and universities,
preschool or day care workers, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and 4-H leaders, cities, local resource organizations, or
individuals to plan and conduct a workshop when and where is most convenient for you.
Learn More About the Project WET Program
Why should you teach about water?
- Description: Water quality and quantity issues change as society changes. They are complex,
create controversy, and impact our lives. To address crucial water issues we need people who think broadly
and who understand systems, connections, patterns, and causes.
- Workshops
- Description: Because Project WET is a multi-disciplinary program, the DEP can design
workshops to meet the needs of specific schools and teachers by focusing on particular disciplines, such as
science, social studies, math, and language arts. Participants receive activity and curriculum guides and
other valuable resource materials.
- State
Facilitators
- Description: West Virginia’s Project WET Coordinator periodically conducts facilitator
workshops. Their purpose is to encourage Project WET certified teachers to become volunteer trainers.
- Water
Festivals
- Description: West Virginia celebrates the importance of water with daylong water festivals
for elementary students. These statewide festivals are part of a nationwide effort to raise awareness of the
critical need for water education.
- Groundwater and
Watershed Models
- Description: The groundwater flow model represents a geological cross section. Mix dyes and
water to symbolize chemicals. Pour them into the system and watch the pollution you created enter the
groundwater and reach water wells. A three-dimensional watershed model helps all of us understand the
dangers of pollution carried by surface runoff (nonpoint source pollution).
- DEP
Environmental Awards
- Description: The annual awards recognize Project WET facilitators who conduct four or more
teacher training workshops. They also recognize community leaders who promote water education in their
community by publicizing, scheduling, or organizing water education workshops.
Project WET offers workshops based on the following educational guides
- Curriculum and Activity Guide
- Description: The K-12 Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide is the core of the Project
WET program and it is only available after attending a training workshop. The publication is a collection of
90 interdisciplinary activities and lesson plans that are teacher-tested and classroom-ready.
- Healthy Water, Healthy People
- Description: The Healthy Water Healthy People Water Quality Educators Guide for grades 6
through University level contains 25 activities that develop understanding of water quality issues and their
relationship to personal, public, and environmental health.
- WOW! The
Wonders of Wetlands
- Description: Ideas for wetland construction, restoration and enhancements; valuable
resources bibliography of other wetland materials.
- Water Festival Planning Guide
- Description: A West Virginia Water Festival is typically a one-day water education event
for 5th grade students, designed to heighten awareness about our precious water resources and the role that
we all play in the health of our watersheds and the health of our planet.
Contact Information
Tomi Bergstrom, Project WET Program Coordinator & Wetern Basin Coordinator
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Water and Waste Management
601 57th St. SE
Charleston, WV 25304
Phone: (304) 926-0499 x43862
Email: tomi.m.bergstrom@wv.gov