Tahoe Resource Conservation District and South Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition (STEEC) environmental educators have been busy bringing water-based interdisciplinary activities to students at Lake Tahoe elementary school classrooms through Wonders of Water curriculum that began Oct. 24 and continues through Nov. 10.
More than 2,000 students from kindergarten through seventh grade will participate in this year’s WOW programs, including Lake Tahoe Unified District elementary and middle schools, as well as schools in the North Lake Tahoe and Incline Village area. This would not be possible without the continued effort of almost 30 dedicated volunteers each year.

“The goal of the WOW program is to provide hands-on, interdisciplinary activities to educate children about the importance of water,” said Sarah Ford of the Tahoe RCD. “The program reinforces state content standards, while providing an interactive learning experience that gives students the opportunity to learn about the unique characteristics of the Tahoe Basin and to meet conservation professionals who live here.”

Each year the WOW program has expanded to include more grades, schools, and volunteer educators. Students also see some continuity in the water-focused curriculum, as educators build upon curriculum and activities from previous years. This year, South Tahoe sixth graders are participating in a tree planting through a partnership with the Sugar Pine Foundation. Students will plant blister-rust resistant sugar pine seedlings in
the Heavenly Gondola fire area and other Lake Tahoe Basin locations while also learning about orienteering and watershed health in local forests.

The South Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition, a partnership of over 20 local agencies and organizations, first brought the WOW curriculum to South Tahoe Schools in fall 2009. The WOW Program is modeled after the Trees are Terrific Program first developed by the STEEC group in April 2009. WOW classroom presentations provide students with information on watershed health, water conservation, fish life cycles, food webs, water cycles, and water quality.

About the Tahoe Resource Conservation District (Tahoe RCD) The Tahoe RCD’s mission is to promote the conservation and improvement of the Lake Tahoe Basin’s soil, water, and related natural resources by providing leadership, information, programs, and technical assistance to all land managers, owners, organizations, and residents. The Tahoe RCD is a non-regulatory, grant funded, public agency that works with a variety of partner agencies to implement programs and outreach, which currently focus on erosion control, runoff infiltration, terrestrial and aquatic invasive species control, and conservation landscaping.

— Submitted by: Sarah Ford, Conservation Planner Tahoe Resource Conservation District, sford@tahoercd.org