The 6 Step Process

To meet the needs of educators, Earth Force has developed Protecting Our Watersheds—a step-by-step guide for educators to use with their students. It takes them through a six-step process of analyzing the information they have found about their watershed to identify environmental problems or threats. It then helps them select a problem to address, devise a solution and implement an action project to address it.

Step One—Conduct a Watershed Inventory: Using chemical, physical, biological, and land use assessment tools and techniques, students test the quality of the water in a given section of the watershed. Students begin identifying potential threats or impariments to their watershed and begin to define community.  

Step Two—Select a Watershed Problem: Students select criteria for choosing an impariment or threat to address.  Students then use a decision making process that supports teamwork to select one threat as their focus for the GREEN project. 

Step Three—Examine What People Are Doing: Students identify the human behaviors and policies related to their chosen problem or threat. Students also identify the key decision makers who can contribute to effectively addressing a watershed problem. This step is an important part of the process as students and educators become more aware of competing viewpoints, key stakeholders, and the myriad of decision-making practices that affect the health and habitat of the watershed.

Step Four—Decide What to Do: Students select a strategy for their project that applies scientific reasoning skills.

Step Five—Take Action: Students design and implement a well-organized plan of action—including detailed timelines and work charts—to ensure that their project reaches completion. 

Step Six—Reflection: Students evaluate the effectiveness of their project, determine if the project has affected lasting change, and make recommendations for future actions. Participants are encouraged to celebrate their successes and share their project stories in their communities, online and in Earth Force publications.

Protecting Our Watersheds was reviewed by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) in 2002 and was included among programs recommended by the organization. Reviewers said, "the smooth marriage of inquiry science, problem solving skills, and service learning is particularly impressive in this curriculum."

Protecting Our Watersheds comes with four posters that help students make water quality connections.  Printable copies for student use are available on our Resources page.