The Bridge
www.vims.edu/bridge/
The Bridge is a unique clearinghouse of the best K-12 ocean science websites. Educators can find information on almost any ocean science topic, lesson plans, bibliographies, and other curriculum resources, including real time data sets for classroom use. The site hosts online discussion lists and professional development opportunities for teachers, as well as information for students on science fairs, summer programs, colleges and careers. It also posts extensive links to publications, virtual expeditions, aquariums and research institutions, regional and national programs, and government agencies and nonprofits.
Earth Force
www.earthforce.org
Created by the Pew Charitable Trusts in 1994, Earth Force helps youth discover and implement lasting solutions to community environmental issues. Its national Youth Advisory Board (15 members aged 12-17) directs a national campaign of its choosing, and the GREEN program (Global Rivers Environmental Education Network) offers tools and services to help young people protect rivers, streams, and other water resources. The GREEN website provides students and water monitors with a place to record, store, and share with others their water monitoring data and posts a national database of locally-generated data, community action tools, and curricular resources for teachers. Additional online Earth Force resources include a monthly newsletter plus excellent links for watershed and environmental education, youth civic engagement and leadership, service learning, and local and state governments.
Environmental Resources Center — University of Wisconsin
www.uwex.edu/erc/index.html
In addition to providing information and support on a range of environmental issues, the Environmental Resources Center sponsors several websites to help involve youth in community water issues. Educating Young People About Water provides a video of eight successful youth water programs, plus free, downloadable resources: step-by-step guides for project planning and evaluation; curriculum summaries of 100 water projects; and advice from 37 program coordinators for integrating community water issues with youth development needs.
Give Water A Hand offers an action guide (also available in Spanish) to community service projects that protect and improve local water resources, and Agua Pura posts a manual for involving Latino youth in water stewardship projects.
EPA: Wetlands, Oceans, And Watersheds
www.epa.gov/owow/
This EPA site offers excellent online resources about water environments of all kinds—oceans, coasts, estuaries, streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands—as well as the laws, regulations, and treaties that govern them. The site also posts detailed information about actions citizens of all ages can take to protect our water resources. Additional online features include publications, databases, and maps, plus funding opportunities and training events.
GLOBE
www.globe.gov/fsl/welcome.html
Through GLOBE, a hands-on science program, students from 100 countries learn to take scientific measurements in the fields of atmosphere, hydrology, soils, and land cover, then analyze and share their data via GLOBE’s interactive website. The wealth of online resources includes “how-to” videos, protocols for collecting data, guides for writing research reports, tutorials for creating maps and graphs, plus opportunities for students and schools in different countries to collaborate on joint projects. Extensive archives post data, student reports, and collaborative projects. A searchable database provides links to resources chosen and annotated by GLOBE students and teachers. For GLOBE’s annual conference, to be held this July in Croatia, students present research projects, conduct fieldwork, and connect to other GLOBE students participating electronically.
The Lighthouse Foundation
www.lighthouse-foundation.org/index.php?id=4&L=1
The Lighthouse Foundation was founded with the mission of informing global citizens about the significance of the world's oceans. Through publicity, public relations work, and supporting environmentally sustainable development, the Lighthouse Foundation hopes to ignite an interest in ocean preservation and spread a sense of responsibility for their upkeep.
River of Words
www.riverofwords.org
River of Words is a K-12 environmental art and poetry program created to promote watershed awareness, literacy, and the arts. Through its annual youth art and poetry contest and its educator's tools, River of Words helps communities explore their own natural and cultural history. The website posts details about the art and poetry contest, plus winning entries from the past six years. Also online are tools for teachers, resources about watersheds, and extensive links to sites in the following categories: science and nature, poetry and literature, education, and art.
River Network
www.riverwatch.org/
River Network supports grassroots river and watershed conservation groups, linking activists with necessary information and services. The website posts hundreds of books, newsletters, and other resources; a directory of river groups across the country; listings of current funding opportunities and job postings; a calendar of national, regional, and local river events; and state-by-state contact information and updates on the Clean Water Act. To aid nonprofits in communications and fundraising, it also provides a free downloadable selection of clip art, photos, quotes, trivia, and fact sheets.
U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources
http://water.usgs.gov/
Befitting the nation’s largest earth-science agency, the USGS website posts exhaustive information on the country’s water resources. It posts data, some in real-time, on ground and surface water, acid rain, water use and quality, plus maps and graphs of water conditions and makes available technical software in similar categories. Online publications include fact sheets, reports, abstracts, memos, and dozens of detailed water programs. It also provides water data, maps, and contact information for every state in the country.
