About Watershed Watch
Watershed Watch is an introductory, hands-on science course which allows students to use a wide range of scientific methods to study both the aquatic and terrestrial parts of a watershed. Students learn about watersheds and the impacts that human populations have on them. This course is an exciting alternative to most introductory science courses, because students are in charge of their own learning.
Designed as a two course sequence, the first course (BIOL 415) takes place during a two-week intensive Summer Research Institute which alternates between New Hampshire and North Carolina. Field trips include the White Mountains when in New Hampshire and the Great Dismal Swamp and the Outer Banks when in North Carolina. The second course takes place as an academic year seminar (BIOL 416) that meets once per week. This year the Summer Research Institute will take place in New Hampshire.
This course provides an exciting introduction to hands-on methods for doing science by studying the Merrimack (NH) and Pasquotank (NC) River Watersheds. By studying the watershed, students learn important aspects of scientific fieldwork and data analysis, along with human and societal impacts on the watershed. Extensive hands-on experiences are offered to stimulate inquiry-based learning, where students are actively involved in answering real questions that lead to an improved understanding of 1) the role watersheds play in natural systems and 2) the societal impacts on and benefits derived from watersheds.
Watershed Watch emphasizes the aquatic and terrestrial biological aspects of a watershed. However, the course will be highly interdisciplinary, focusing on geologic, hydrologic, and atmospheric forces, along with the biologic processes responsible for the current status of the Merrimack drainage basin. Watershed Watch will also include a strong human impact perspective, documenting both the core values of watersheds to society, as well as human impacts on the Merrimack watershed over the past several centuries. The course fulfills a Category 3 General Education Requirement, as is appropriate for its problem-based focus on specific scientific and technological content.
Watershed Watch at Elizabeth City State University
Watershed Watch is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (#0525433) in partnership with the University of New Hampshire, Elizabeth City State University, New Hampshire Technical College, and College of the Albemarle.