WATERSHED WORKBOOK

Green Mountain has begun a process of creating the Ossipee Watershed Workbook, which includes activities designed to foster connections between students and their watershed by providing fun, hands-on activities that meet the needs of many different teaching and learning styles and prepare students for participation in Green Mountain Conservation Group’s many service learning projects (VBAP, VLAP, RIVERS, and OLT).     These Watershed Workbooks can be implemented in the Ossipee Watershed schools in Effingham, Freedom, Madison, Ossipee, Sandwich and Tamworth and are a continuous work in progress.   Their development began  in 2010, when GMCG was funded by the Dorr Foundation and New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to start it’s work with local schools, teachers, students, volunteers, and partner organizations to develop the workbook.   The focus of the workbook is watershed-specific education, data collection, service learning and field-oriented activities and presentations that encourage watershed stewardship and community service. Workbook activities are correlated to the NH state science standards, and cover multiple disciplines including art and math. 

Mia Akaogi, an Antioch graduate student working on her masters, along with members of the GMCG Education Committee, drafted the first 4 chapters.   GMCG applauds the dedicated work and editing provided by teachers, Carolyn Hemingway (Ossipee Elementary) and Justin Chapman (J. A. Brett School in Tamworth).   These chapters are complete and are implemented in several of the Ossipee Watershed Elementary Schools.   It is the desire and hope that GMCG will be funded in the future to draft and implement the remaining planned chapters 5-7.

The “Student” chapters should be of particular interest to anyone wishing to learn more about a watershed, and how to protect it and the natural resources which make up the ecosystem that supports life.