Watershed Education Network

We would like to introduce you to Watershed Education Network(WEN). Located in Missoula Montana, WEN is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering knowledge, appreciation and awareness of watershed health through science, outreach, and education. Since 1996, WEN has been dedicated to growing the next generation of watershed stewards. WEN serves over 2,300 western Montana K-12 students annually through our School Stream Monitoring Program.

Stream Monitoring field trips take place at 30 different stream sites across western Montana each fall and spring. Schools are encouraged to adopt a waterway and visit the same site each season to facilitate seasonal and long-term comparisons of chemical, physical, and biological data. Field trips are a great way for students to get hands-on field experience outside of the classroom and to learn about their watersheds from a scientific perspective. The experience is a rich, hands-on educational experience for Western Montana students.

In the broader picture, stream monitoring helps students become more familiar with their local waterways: once acquainted with local streams, they are more apt to care about watershed health and to notice and understand developments that affect it. Through this educational experience, students begin to understand how local waterways fit into the larger picture of the watershed. Overall our program, increases awareness and sense-of-place relationships naturally encouraging watershed stewardship through education. For more details on our education programs, please visit us on-line at www.montanawatershed.org.