Written By: Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources
There’s nothing better than getting outdoors, exploring the local flora and fauna, and appreciating the beauty around us. While we’d all like to hit the trail or wade in the nearest stream, sometimes that’s difficult, especially for an entire class of high school students. Not to worry! Educators in Gwinnett County now have an opportunity to help their students venture outside without ever leaving the classroom. Gwinnett Water Resources has developed a project-based learning (PBL) opportunity, the Adopt-A-Stream Habitat Assessment: A Virtual Experience, that allows teachers and students to explore local stream habitats from the comfort of their desks and computer screens!
Teachers can access a lesson guide that will walk them step-by-step through the virtual Adopt-A-Stream activity. Students will learn about parameters indicating good to poor quality of stream habitat, conduct a stream habitat survey, and score the health of two streams. At the heart of the lesson, however, are stream tours. Through a digital platform, students will virtually jump into a local stream and explore! As they meander downstream, they will analyze habitat conditions like bank erosion, stream flow, and vegetation. Then, through inquiry-based research, students will have the opportunity to examine the effects of factors like urbanization on stream health and finally, they will propose solutions to habitat degradation such as stream restoration and habitat enhancement.
The best part is that the skills learned through the virtual experience can be applied on real-life streams. Students can complete a habitat assessment at home, at the park, or on campus if a stream is accessible. This can be done both as a class, or by individuals. Students will complete habitat assessment on a real creek and could even get certified to collect chemical or bacterial samples. GC&B offers free certification classes every month! Students can become part of a statewide database that collects baseline water quality data to observe the conditions of our local streams and become more aware of pollution and water quality issues.
Are you a member of our Green and Healthy Schools Program? GHS is partnership between GC&B and GCPS that integrates environmental education with science, problem-solving, and civic engagement. It offers teachers and students opportunities to lead sustainability projects, apply for mini-grants, and connect with experts. Participating schools gain recognition, access to workshops, and a chance to build real-world environmental skills. For more info on both programs, visit Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful’s website.
Follow the link below to access the lesson guide.
Adopt-A-Stream Habitat Assessment: A Virtual Experience. For more information, contact DWRSchools@gwinnettcounty.com.
