Stormwater &
Green Infrastructure Track

 

Freshwater Tool Kit
Grades: PreK-12
Contact: Kae Donlevy at WATERSMEET.MKE@gmail.com
The Freshwater Tool Kit is designed to connect Milwaukee-area educators with activities and organizations to help teach the foundational knowledge of water resources. We believe that learners with a strong understanding of water basics will become more engaged when they learn about in-depth water resource concepts and issues such as assessing, managing and protecting our water resources, and be more motivated to find solutions to protecting our waters. The Tool Kit contains lesson plans, classroom presentations and field trip opportunities. Contact Kae DonLevy or visit http://www.freshwatertoolkit.org/ for more information!
Points: varies
Tracks: Lakes, Rivers, Watersheds, Conservation, Water Cycle & Quality, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure


Next.cc Workshops
Grades: 6-12
Contact: Linda Keane
Next.cc offers a wide variety of place based workshops for your classroom on topics such as water, design as nature, sustainability, smart grid challenges and biomimicry in design. Check out this example from Escuela Verde!
Points: 50/workshop
Standards Connections: NAAEE, NGSS Primary (K-2), NGSS Elementary (3-5), NGSS Middle School, WI Art and Design Standards
Tracks: Lakes, Rivers, Watersheds, Conservation, Water Cycle & Quality, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure


Water Journeys
Grades: 3-12
NEXT.cc is an educational nonprofit that offers information, object, experience and environmental activities connected to larger earth, air, water and energy systems. NEXT.cc’s journeys introduce activities online, in the classroom, in the community and globally. Explore any of the Water Journeys: water; waves; watershed; water quality; water conservation; precipitation; rainwater harvesting; rain gardens; acid rain; clouds; climate; rivers; great lakes; aquaponics; fish; green roofs; urban agriculture.
Points: 20/journey reported
Standards Connections: NAAEE, NGSS Primary (K-2), NGSS Elementary (3-5), NGSS Middle School, WI Art and Design Standards
Tracks: Lakes, Rivers, Watersheds, Conservation, Water Cycle & Quality, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure


Riveredge Nature Center School Programs
Grades: K3-12
Whether in your classroom or in ours, Riveredge Nature Center has something for every class to study and explore the natural world around you. Our 380-acre natural sanctuary is the perfect place to study life that lives in ponds, rivers, prairies and forests during a school field trip. We also offer outreach programs led by Riveredge Environmental Educators that take place outdoors at your school or a nearby park. Visit https://www.riveredgenaturecenter.org/schoolprograms/ to learn more or apply for a program.
Points: 30/program
Tracks: Lakes, Rivers, Watersheds, Water Cycle & Quality, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure


Ravine Education Program
Grades: 4-8
Through guided observation and exploration, these lesson plans and classroom activities will enable your 4th-8th grade students to understand ravine and lakefront ecosystems prior to development, the plants and animals that historically used them as refuge, and the species that still depend on the lakefront today—including people!
Points: 10/activity reported
Tracks: Lakes, Watersheds, Conservation, Water Cycle & Quality, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure


Hidden Water Story Tours
Grades:
4-12
Contact: Lisa Neeb, Green & Healthy Schools Project Manager
Reflo offers tours and engagements that demonstrate the use of stormwater management best practices and green infrastructure throughout Milwaukee. Join us to discover the hidden water stories of Cream City Farms, Green Tech Station, or completed Schoolyard Redevelopment Projects.
Points: 50/tour
Tracks: Stormwater & Green Infrastructure


Milwaukee Community Map
Grades: 5-12
Contact: Michael Timm, Milwaukee Water Stories Program Manager
The Milwaukee Community Map is a free interactive map using Google Earth to share, explore, and create Milwaukee’s community water stories. The map hosts Water Stories, featuring local groups making a difference in our city’s collective water story; Basemaps, featuring geographic areas like watersheds, the sewer service area, and historic waterways; and Deeper Dives, featuring animated thematic tours. Check back soon for suggested curricular and topical themes that intersect with the Milwaukee Community Map!
Points: 10/activity
Tracks: Rivers, Watersheds, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure


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Sewershed Mapping Activity
Grades: 7-12
Contact: Lisa Neeb, Green & Healthy Schools Project Manager
The benefits of green infrastructure extend beyond stormwater management. The planning effort to support green infrastructure installation near schoolyards itself can involve students, teachers, and community members. In this activity, students conduct a sewershed assessment to document the potential pollution sources within a school’s sewershed, map the boundaries of the sewershed, and gather information to estimate the size of conceptual green infrastructure that may be possible to help manage the stormwater that falls on the site. This information is then integrated with Google Earth to create a map and visual story of the site’s water quality, quantity and opportunity to manage stormwater more effectively.
Points: 50/group map
Tracks: Watersheds, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure


Schoolyard Redevelopment Project
Grades: PreK-12
Contact: Lisa Neeb, Green & Healthy Schools Project Manager
Reflo works with five Milwaukee-area schools per year in an intensive, collaborative process to design greener, healthier schoolyards. Each project is tailored to the specific needs and enthusiasm of the school’s community but often involves replacing seas of asphalt with green spaces including bioswales, rain gardens, and trees. The placemaking designs go beyond simply removing pavement, however, to maximize triple-bottom-line benefits. Earn points for each phase of the redevelopment process.
Points: 1000/year
Tracks: Stormwater & Green Infrastructure


Milwaukee Story Mapper
Grades: 7-12
Contact: Michael Timm, Milwaukee Water Stories Program Manager
A companion to the Milwaukee Community Map curated by the nonprofit Reflo – Sustainable Water Solutions, the free Milwaukee Story Mapper gives anyone the tools to create their own story map in Google Earth. The Milwaukee Story Mapper allows users to upload photos, edit text, and arrange geo-positioned placemarks that open in Google Earth. Student projects documenting research or field experiences using this tool can be combined with the Milwaukee Community Map. Click here to schedule a workshop.
Points: 50/story
Tracks: Watersheds, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure


Virtual Water Table
Grades:
K-12
Contact: Lisa Neeb, Green & Healthy Schools Project Manager
The Virtual Water Table, created by the nonprofit Reflo – Sustainable Water Solutions, is a versatile and dynamic mobile venue available for schools to rent and engage students in hands-on learning. Toggle the table through three engagement modes: Sandbox, Map, and Game. Sandbox mode projects an interactive contour map onto a sandbox—complete with flowing digital water. Map mode projects the Milwaukee Community Map in Google Earth. Game mode features the MKE Waterscape Game, where five players role-play through scenarios inspired by Milwaukee’s water history. Click here for more information or to reserve the table.
Points: 500/visit
Tracks: Rivers, Watersheds, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure


Lake Sturgeon Bowl
Grades:
9-12
Contact: Liz Sutton
Lake Sturgeon Bowl, the first Saturday in February, is a regional competition of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB)—a round robin, double-elimination academic tournament for teams of five high school students who are interested in broadening their understanding of the oceans and Great Lakes.
Points: 100/team
Tracks: Lakes, Rivers, Watersheds, Water Cycle & Quality, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure