PWA's education program brings nature into the classroom and the classroom into nature in area elementary and middle schools. Through teacher orientation, classroom mentoring and extracurricular activities, program volunteers instill within students an ethic of stewardship for the local environment. Recent and ongoing projects include a gardening initiative, wetland restoration, nature trail renovation, tree plantings, and seasonal cleanups at PWA preserves.

At Great Salt Bay School in Damariscotta, volunteers have been leading a Maine Apprentice Gardener Program. The program is being developed in a cooperative effort with the University of Maine Extension Service. The course began in 2002 as a pilot project to develop a curriculum for statewide distribution. Ultimately, the curriculum will be incorporated in the Extension’s Maine Apprentice Gardener Program.

Hauschka Scholarship Fund

Every child deserves wonderful outdoor camp experiences. In that spirit, PWA established the Hauschka Scholarship Fund in 2001 in honor of the family that spearheaded the rganization's grassroots origins. Ted and Elsa Hauschka were the primary founders of the Biscay Pond Association in 1966, which became PWA in 1973. Their namesake scholarship fund continues their legacy and dedication to sharing the wonders of, teaching respect for and educating our youth about the natural world around us and serves as a lasting reminder of the important contributions the Hauschkas made towards
preserving the natural beauty of our region. From 2001 to 2011, PWA has distributed $16,810 in scholarships to 108 children to attend summer camp, including Tanglewood 4-H Camp in Lincolnville, Morris Farm Day Camp in Wiscasset, Wavus-By-Day in Jefferson, and PWA's own Watershed Kids Nature Day Camp in Damariscotta/New Harbor. This fund relies on private donations to keep it going. Please donate to the scholarship fund today.
   You can donate now online via Network for Good – click on the icon below. Your donation can benefit PWA's general operations, or you can designate Hauschka Scholarship. Thank You!.

Clean Water Learning Activities Developed

Peter Arnold, Coordinator of the Pathways to a Sustainable Future Program at The Chewonki Foundation, invited PWA to contract with Chewonki to develop a curriculum to complement their newly published Clean Water Poster. The vision was to have hands-on learning activities that directly taught the messages on the poster. After 7 months of collaboration, the vision has come to fruition, and this “kit” of teaching tools is now available online at

http://www.chewonki.org/pathways/pathways_cleanwater_poster.asp

The goal of the lessons is to promote awareness, apprecia-tion, understanding, and stewardship of water resources. The five activities included in this curriculum correspond to each of the five contextual areas highlighted on the Clean Water poster: Less Lawn, Green Buffers, Waste and Recycling, Energy Choices, and Transportation. Additionally, the activities
were designed around behavioral learning objectives to pro-mote critical thinking and problem-solving skills related to the pollution dimensions listed across the bottom of the poster (Sediment, Chemicals, Oxygen Depletion, Metals, Biological).

The lessons are geared towards upper-elementary-age through middle-school-age children in science classrooms and informal teaching contexts. They were developed and field-tested by Tenley Wilder, PWA Education Coordinator, and reviewed by midcoast Maine educators. Each lesson includes a Navigation Bar that outlines the target audience of the activity, the time frame needed to complete the activity, and suggestions for other complementary lessons to be conducted before or after the activity. These extension activities offer service-learning opportunities to integrate meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the
learning experience, teach civic responsibility, encourage lifelong civic engagement, and strengthen communities for the common good.

PWA extends gratitude to Peter Arnold and his Program Assistant, Brendan Kober, and project advisors, Tracy Harkins of KIDS Consortium and Christine Smith of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. The Pathways to a Sustainable Future poster series project was funded by Poland Spring Water Company in recognition of their continued interest in the health of our natural resources.

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Watershed Kids Day Camp – Summer 2012

PWA is accepting early registrations for the 2012 sessions of Watershed Kids Nature Day Camp. Scholarship assistance may be available – see below.

There will be two 5-day sessions, July 2–6 and July 9–13, directed by PWA's Education Coordinator Amelia Fogg. Activites are tailored for children ages 6 to 9. Each day has a theme to frame the learning and exploration:

• Geting to Know Each Other & Our Natural World: Explore the wonderful world of water while getting to know the Doyle Preserve and fellow campers.
• Rivers and Streams: Learn why quality wildlife habitat is so important for our waterways.
• Forest Ecology: Study woodland creatures and their role in the watershed, their adaptation techniques and life processes, and how to identify them.
• Pond Life: Explore a freshwater ecosysytem and get hands-on with organisms that live in the Pemaquid Pond.
• Tidal Fun: Wade into a shallow saltwater pond and get up close with marine life.

A brochure for these sessions can be downloaded here as a pdf file (0.9 Mb). If you have problems downloading or require more information, please call Amelia at the PWA office (207-563-2196) or send her an e-mail at pwalearn@pemaquidwatershed.org.

Every child deserves wonderful outdoor camp experiences. In that spirit, PWA established the Hauschka Scholarship Fund in 2001 to honor the family behind the grassroots origins of the organization. Since 2001 PWA has distributed $17,510 in scholarships for 113 children to attend nature summer camp.