Skip to main content

Official Website

of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    The .gov means its official.

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 
    Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

    Register for a Professional Development Watershed Education Workshop

    If you’re a teacher or educator, you can attend professional development trainings.

    Find a Workshop
    Explore Water Education in State Parks

    Watershed Education

    The Bureau of State Parks Watershed Education program is an interdisciplinary, watershed-based, educational curriculum for grades 6 – 12, which promotes investigation, research, and decision-making skills to increase environmental literacy among students.

    This curriculum takes a comprehensive approach to learning about natural resources. In addition to biological, chemical, and physical investigations of a waterway, lessons allow students to consider all factors, past and present, human and non-human, which affect the entire watershed.

    The Watershed Education curriculum supports the new Pennsylvania Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy and Sustainability (STEELS) Standards, as well as the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) framework by encouraging:

    • Student-driven research
    • Classroom and field investigations
    • Data collection and analysis
    • Stewardship and civic-learning activities

    To participate in DCNR’s Watershed Education program and obtain the curricula, educators must be trained by a Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks facilitator at a Watershed Education teacher workshop.

    Learn more about DCNR’s Watershed Education (WE) program at the Watershed Education Website.

    View the department's Water Quality Monitoring Database.

    Professional Development

    Pennsylvania State Parks offer a variety of professional development opportunities for:

    • Classroom Teachers (pre-Kindergarden to college level)
    • Pre-service Teachers
    • Non-formal Environmental Educators

    Workshops can be:

    • Hosted at state park sites
    • Scheduled for a school or district
    • Virtual
    • Hybrid (in-person and virtual)

    All curricula address the Pennsylvania Department of Education standards, including Pennsylvania's Science, Technology and Engineering, Environmental Literacy, and Sustainability (STEELS) standards.

    For Pennsylvania-certified educators, Act 48 hours are offered for all curricula listed.

    Workshops

    Educators can find upcoming professional development trainings at the Calendar of Events – Educator Workshops.

    If a Watershed Education teacher workshop is not scheduled near you, with enough notice, one could be coordinated and facilitated at your local state park, school, or nature center (minimum 10 or more workshop participants).

    Contact us

    For questions about Watershed Education, please contact the project coordinator.

    Email the Watershed Education Coordinator

    Sign up for the Pennsylvania State Parks monthly educator emails

    Be the first to know about new workshops for teachers in Pennsylvania State Parks and learn about nature lessons, grants, webinars, and other educational resources.

    Sign Up Now