Stormwater Resources for Educators
Clean stormwater is critical— now and in the future.
Salt Lake County Stormwater Coalition understands that teaching children and youth about responsible stormwater management is one of the most effective ways to impact positive stormwater quality now and for years to come.
On this webpage, you will find stormwater and other water quality curricula that aligns with the Utah Core, links to free online environmental education certifications, project-based learning examples, activities, links to water quality and stormwater video shorts, and much more. Please let us know if there is anything you are looking for, but don’t see or if there is anything we can do to help your class or group of students to get the most valuable learning from these resources.
The annual Virtual Water Quality Fair is one of the educational components of the overall Salt Lake County stormwater management plan. Other education components include: use of the character “Droplet” and “We All Live Downstream” campaign. There are also more technical components, such as each city’s overall stormwater plan and mitigation of unintentional, and perhaps uniformed damage by residents and developers, as cities become more and more urbanized.
The annual Water Science & Engineering Competition for 6, 7, & 8th grade students challenges students to consider critical challenges on a local, national or global scale and to create an original solution to address one of those challenges. Students create an amateur video as the entry to the competition.
KUTV Meteorologist, Sterling Poulson, knows what he's talking about! Here are 5 simple things everyone can do to prevent stormwater pollution!
Project Based Science for 3rd to 5th Graders- Video from Southwest Educational Development Laboratory for Teachers & Afterschool Leaders: “Small Fry To Go”
Droplet’s Ride Down the Jordan River Watershed As stormwater flows along the watershed, stormwater becomes polluted. The polluted stormwater can be dangerous to wildlife impact the environment, and can be harmful to human health. While commercial and industrial facilities contribute to water pollution, the largest portion of the problem comes from our collective, individual actions as residents and homeowners. But, there are several things we can do to prevent stormwater pollution. If we all do a little, it will help a lot! We all live downstream!
Students from elementary schools throughout Salt Lake County participate in water science exhibits at the annual Water Quality Fair.
Resources for Stormwater Education
National Environmental Education Foundation Teaching and Professional Development Resources
In partnership with the COMET Program, NEEF provides a series of free, online courses on weather and the enviroment. These courses count for continuing education credit through the American Meteorological Society's Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) program and are useful for anyone interested in learning more.
https://www.neefusa.org/online-courses
Games and activities that teach about the environment— and many more resources on the NEEF Environmental Education at Home page
https://www.neefusa.org/education/environmental-education-home
Download or request free copies of the “Natural Inquirer”, with stories and lessons for PreK - High School.
https://www.naturalinquirer.org/all-issues.html?utm_source=NEEF
The Water Cycle, Cloud Formation, and Rainbows Explained
Through, clear explanation of the Water Cycle, Cloud Formation, and Rainbows with links to simple, quality graphics. Note: This site was recommended to us by a student, Kelly, who used it to aid in a weather and water cycle science class project. :)
Water Cycle Glossary of Terms This comprehensive resource was found by a student and her parent, and is teacher recommended!
H2OC Stormwater 101 for Elementary Students
Download the Student Activity Guide from this site (Resource from Orange County, California)
National Stormwater Calculator
EPA’s National Stormwater Calculator (SWC) estimates the annual amount of rainwater and frequency of runoff from a specific site anywhere in the United States. Estimates are based on local soil conditions, land cover, and historic rainfall records.
The Calculator accesses several national databases that provide soil, topography, rainfall, and evaporation information for the chosen site. The user supplies information about the site’s land cover and selects the types of low impact development (LID) controls they would like to use. The LID controls that the user can choose are the following seven green infrastructure practices:
Disconnection
Rain harvesting
Rain gardens
Green roofs
Street planters
Infiltration basins
Porous pavement
Green infrastructure promotes the natural movement of water, instead of allowing it to wash into streets and down storm drains. Green infrastructure also has the added benefit of beautifying neighborhoods and increasing property values.
The SWC estimates runoff at a site based on available information such as soil type, landscape and land-use information, and weather. This update to the SWC will allow users to consider how runoff may vary based on historical weather and potential future climate. To better inform decisions, it is recommended that the user develop a range of SWC results with various assumptions about model inputs such as percent of impervious surface, soil type, sizing of green infrastructure, as well as historical weather and future climate change scenarios. Please check with local authorities about whether and how use of these tools may support local stormwater management goals and requirements.
Clean water is essential to keeping our families and the environment healthy. The Calculator helps protect and restore the environmental integrity of our waterways.
Stormwater Student Activities:
Promoting Environmental Literacy through the Arts and Cultural Exchange
River of Words® (ROW) is a program of The Center for Environmental Literacy and a part of the Kalmanovitz School of Education. Acknowledged pioneers in the field of place-based education, River of Words has been inspiring educators and their students for over twenty years with an innovative blend of science and the arts. Learn more and see some of the young student spotlights from the 2020 competition at https://www.stmarys-ca.edu/center-for-environmental-literacy.
The University of Nebraska- Lincoln has a wide variety of activities, such as having students write and produce a Stormwater PSA, make a watershed model or build a rain barrel that can be downloaded and used with the Stormwater Sleuth comic book or on their own. They are designed for students from 4th - 6th grades, but may be appropriate for other ages as well.
In the classroom or at home: EPA Stormwater challenge crossword- placemat (best if printed on 11 x 17 size paper)
Watersheds and Wetlands Booklet (2 double sided pages) from Penn State Extension- 4th graders
Curriculums and Lesson plans:
Activities and lessons for 3, 4, and 5th Grade students, aligned with the Utah Core Standards
CURRICULUM: The City of Eugene, Oregon provides SPLASH! (Stormwater Pollution Learn and Share!), a curriculum kit developed with local teachers for grade levels K-8. Units explore water and the effects of pollution in water systems, the water cycle, and local ecosystems. Each unit includes the lesson plans and handouts in a pdf.
CURRICULUM: Tahoma School District provides this 5th Grade Stormwater Curriculum featuring mapping the school campus for stormwater solutions.
CURRICULUM: Earth Partnership for Schools- University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum & myfairlakes.com provides Ripple Effects curriculum, which includes 5 days of lessons and activities for 5th -7th graders.
Stormwater Management Lesson Plans for Grades 3-12 Green Infrastructure as Outdoor Environmental Laboratories: Urban Water Quality Training in Primary and Secondary Schools
Utah State University Extension- Stream Side Science- (same lesson plans are also available on Utah Education Network). This site includes lessons by topic, grade and core assignment. Also available: local watershed information, photos and videos, program assessments, and teacher workshops & materials.
Nature Conservancy Nature Works Everywhere: Sustainable Urban Design: Educator’s Toolkit for Project-Based Learning
University of North Carolina- Stormwater for Educators- Resources include stormwater basics, grade specific activities, information for students/educators, homeowners and professionals. Although information is North Carolina specific, several activities/concepts are high quality and may be adapted for students in any setting.
US EPA Polluted Runoff Resources for Teachers- Elementary resources include 7 experiments with Darby Duck, the Aquatic Crusader, and articles and activities for middle school students, including information about Streams in the city and stopping pointless personal pollution.
UTAH EDUCATION NETWORK 4th Grade Science Standard 1: Students will understand that water changes state as it moves through the water cycle. Objective 1: Describe the water cycle. Lesson plans include: A Drop in the Bucket, All Washed Up, Water Cycle and Water World Story
U.S. EPA- Students of all grade levels can learn much more about the ways the water cycle affects the environment at the EPA's Water Sourcebook Series website. This resource features activities, fact sheets, reference materials, and more.
Great Salt Lake Institute (Westminster College) Teacher Resources and Lesson Plans. The goal of these activities is to develop critical thinking skills and inspire stewardship among the next generation. High school programs were supported by the Utah State Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) initiative, which is underwritten by the U.S. Department of Labor. GSLI serves to connect all of these parties in education and, ultimately, workforce opportunities regarding this unique lake.
FRANKLIN INSTITUTE- Water in the City website can help to broaden students' understanding of water and the continuous, global water cycle. This resource covers the "Water Basics" and science of water and also presents an analysis of Philadelphia's water system and case studies on waterways throughout the world.
U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) WATER SCIENCE SCHOOL. We offer information on many aspects of water, along with pictures, data, maps, and an interactive center where you can give opinions and test your water knowledge.
Teacher Resources for Water Education from
Utah Society For Environmental Education
Water Wonders Toolkit: Use this kit in conjunction with the PLT activity, "Water Wonders," to teach students about the water cycle and the journey of water molecules through this cycle, contact director@usee.org
Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District
Recycle Utah's Water Education
Jordan River Restoration Project
SLC Public Utilities: Protecting Watersheds
Conservation Garden Park Resources
RiverXchange (year-long writing and water education program for 4th - 6th graders)
Stormwater Videos:
KUTV’s Sterling Paulson reminds us about 5 things we can do to prevent stormwater pollution.
Salt Lake County Stormwater Coalition believes that "We All Live Downstream" meaning that we each have the opportunity to participate in keeping the water that goes down the storm drain free from grass clippings, fertilizers, trash, pet waste, and other foreign objects. Only rain should go down the storm drain.
This is a pretty good, super-quick representation of how rain travels through a storm drain to a waterway. You’ll need to watch it twice to review the pollution sources.
