School and Youth Programs

• Incredible Journey
  • 1st Grade, 45-60 mins
  • In this Project WET activity students will experience how water moves through our atmosphere as they act as a water drop. **aligns with Ohio Science Standard 1.ESS.2
• Pollution Problems
  • 3rd & 7th Grade, 60 mins
  • Students will experience how point and nonpoint source pollution affect our waterways with our 3D EnviroScape Model. **aligns with Ohio Science Standards 3.ESS.3 & 7.ESS.1
• Water Quality: Ask the Bugs!
  • 7th Grade, 45-60 mins
  • In this Project WET activity, students will experience how scientists use macroinvertebrates to determine the health of a waterway. **aligns with Ohio Science Standard 7.LS.2

• Nurturing Urban Tree Seeds (NUTS)
  • 3rd & 4th Grade, 3-60 min sessions
  • Students will learn about the importance of native tree species and get involved in the life cycle of a tree seedling. **aligns with Ohio Science Standards 3.LS.1, 2, & 3, and 4.LS.1
• Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience, MWEE
  • all grades K-12, session number and length varies,
  • Work with CSWCD Educators to create a project and place-based learning experience for your students! Each MWEE is designed to cover selected Ohio Science Standards and other subject areas can be integrated as well.

• all grades K-12
• Each Spring in conjunction with the national contest Cuyahoga SWCD hosts a K-12 Conservation Poster Contest. Open to classroom and youth group participation! Click to learn more.

• 9th-12th graders
• Each summer Cuyahoga SWCD sponsors students to attend a week-long camp where they learn all about environmental topics like forestry, wildlife, and conservation. Click to learn more.

• 9th-12th graders
• If you have students who want to dig even deeper into conservation the Envirothon Competition is a great way for them to test their knowledge! Click here to learn more.

• 9th-12th graders
• Students who participate in an MWEE can formally present their action projects to our panel of judges and meet with a variety of local conservation professionals to learn more about conservation career opportunities available here in Ohio. Click here to learn more.

• Water Quality Monitoring Kit
  • $50 refundable deposit, 2-week loan
  • This kit has everything you need to get your students out in the field exploring water quality through chemical testing and macroinvertebrate sampling. **aligns with Ohio Science Standards 7.LS.2, B.DI, and ENV.ER.3
• Envirothon Essentials Kit
  • $25 refundable deposit, 2-week loan
  • If you have students preparing for Envirothon, this kit has all the essentials they need to get started preparing with materials for all study areas including identification guides, macroinvertebrate sampling tools, and more.
• ODNR- Wildlife Traveling Trunk
  • no deposit required, 2-week loan
  • This kit, property of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, includes pelts, animal skulls and activities to help your students better understand the unique wildlife that call Ohio home. **aligns with Ohio Science Standards 3.LS.3, 5.LS.2, 7.LS.2
• Lakefront Nature Preserve Discovery Pack
  • no deposit required, 2-week loan
  • This pack was designed to be used in conjunction with a field trip to the Lakefront Nature Preserve (formerly Dike 14 Preserve). This kit is filled with 9 different lessons and designed to be used by teachers at any grade level, K-12. Each lesson engages students with a different component of the nature preserve’s ecosystem and can be used as a stand-alone lesson or in conjunction with other lessons from the pack. **alignment with Ohio State Science Standards is included in the pack
• NOAA Sea Grant Trash Tote
  • no deposit required, 2-week loan
  • The Trash Tote, sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s Sea Grant Program, is an interactive and engaging way to teach your students about the importance of keeping trash out of our marine ecosystems and includes lessons about the harmful effects of microplastics, what should and should not be at the beach, and an introduction into single-use plastics. **aligns with Ohio Science Standards 3.ESS.3

• All of these models are available as single-visit presentations from a Cuyahoga SWCD Educator or can be rented and used by a trained educator. 
• EnviroScape Model
  • $25 refundable deposit, 2-week loan
  • This model is a great hands-on way to introduce your students to how watersheds work. Students can help set up different sections of the EnviroScape model and test their theories of how water will move through a watershed. This model can also be used for demonstrating how the water quality changes from erosion and pollution runoff. **aligns with Ohio Science Standards 3.ESS.3 & 7.ESS.1
• Soil Erosion Boxes
  • $25 refundable deposit, 2-week loan
  • Soil Erosion Boxes are a great tool to help students visualize the effects of erosion on water quality and landscape as well as test out various real-world mitigation strategies such as adding plants and mulching. **aligns with Ohio Science Standards 4.ESS.3 and 6.ESS.4
• Soil Tent Model
  • $50 refundable deposit, 2-week loan
  • Students will step inside the tent to discover what’s below ground. A realistic canvas mural depicts underground soil layers, plant roots, and organisms in urban, aquatic, forested, and agricultural landscapes. **aligns with Ohio Science Standards 3.ESS.1 and 6.ESS.4
• Streamulator Model
  • $25 refundable deposit, 2-week loan
  • The Streamulator is a large stream table that helps students visualize the characteristics of a natural stream such as erosion, deposition, sediment transport, and more. Teachers can also use this model to demonstrate how changes to a stream affect the overall system. **aligns with Ohio Science Standard 1.ESS.2

Cuyahoga SWCD offers day-long summer workshops for classroom and community educators from Cuyahoga County.  These workshops focus on connecting educators with local resources and nationally recognized curricula such as Project Learning Tree, Project WET, and Project WILD.

Check back in Spring 2025 for more details!

For questions, contact Tim Becker tbecker@cuyahogaswcd.org

Cuyahoga SWCD partners with local facilities such as Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center and Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve to offer immersive overnight workshops for classroom and community educators from Cuyahoga County.  These workshops allow educators to connect with nature, explore resources they can use in their practice and have some fun!

Check back in Spring 2025 for more details!

For questions, contact Tim Becker tbecker@cuyahogaswcd.org