CSWEP

The Catskill Stream and Watershed Education Program (CSWEP) is a voluntary program, provided free of charge to all interested schools within the New York City West-of-Hudson watershed. The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development designs and implements the program and provides five classes of instruction and stream monitoring trips throughout the school year. The program is designed to provide students grade 4 through 12, with the information and tools necessary to analyze the health of their local streams, to foster a sense of ecological stewardship, and give students a sense of the unique role they play as residents within the NYC watershed. Since the 2003 - 2004 school year, CSWEP has provided classroom and in-field instruction to 185 4th - 12th grade classes within the Catskill/Delaware watersheds. Every year CSWEP targets 30 total classes, with each class receiving a five-lesson program that covers topics related to stream and watershed stewardship, stream and groundwater monitoring (including data analysis), the water cycle, watersheds, and stream management techniques. Three classroom lessons are coupled with two outdoor lessons where students are engaged in monitoring the health of a local stream and its surrounding watershed.

Teachers interested in learning more about this program should contact: Nicole Vente, Catskills Educator/Stream Specialist at the Catskill Center for Conservation & Development, (845)-586-2611.