CBF-PA: Cumberland, Dauphin County Students Explore Local Waterways

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA opens its 2015 Susquehanna Watershed Education Program on March 27 for local students, grades 6 through 12, for a day of watershed exploration.

SWEP, one of CBF’s 14 field education programs, has been providing hands-on experiential learning programs in Pennsylvania for 25 years.

Our education team works with 85 regional groups in 20 different counties to get students out on the water. You can find our team on a local river or stream doing what they do best – teaching students about the importance of water quality, how stream systems work, and conducting hands-on experiments that engage and excite a student’s sense of exploration.

The spring season begins March 27th and ends in early June. We invite you to join us for any of the trips. The list below features those that are closest to you.

Students enjoy the opportunity to paddle a canoe. They will also investigate the health of local waterways through a variety of hands-on activities like up-close studies of the bugs and other species living in the waterway; studying the physical characteristics of the waterway, the shoreline, and the adjoining lands; using water chemistry tests to determine quality; and by using maps to orient students with their specific watershed.

The purpose of the program is to provide field experiences that help students build a critical connection to the natural world in which they live that will motivate their decision-making as they develop into citizens and future leaders in Pennsylvania.

Upcoming Trips in Your Area:

Date(s)	School	Grade	Number of Students	Location of Trip	Years participating
March 30	Diakon Wilderness Center, Boiling Springs	11-12	28	Susquehanna River, Conodoquinet Creek, Laurel Lake, TBD	3-5
April 9-10	Cedar Cliff High School, Camp Hill	11-12	17	Conodoguinet Creek	3-5
April 14, 17, 21, 22	East Pennsboro High School, Enola	9, 11, 12	20	Susquehanna River – Fort Hunter	3-5
April 27, 29, 30,May 1, 7, 8	Lower Dauphin Middle School, Hummelstown	6	22	Swatara Creek	6-10
May 4	Middletown Area Middle School, Middletown	6, 7	22	Swatara Creek	10 +
May 5	Halifax Area Middle School, Halifax	7	26	Susquehanna River – Fort Hunter	1-2
May 21	Washington Heights Elementary, Lemoyne	5	75	Gifford Pinchot State Park	10 +

For more information, visit CBF’s Susquehanna Watershed Education Program  webpage.