School Programs
Winner of International Wildscreen Award!
In 2004, Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (UCR) debuted a new interactive Waters to the Sea CD-ROM for middle school students that took top honors in the interactive category at Bristol, England’s Wildscreen Festival--the world's largest and most prestigious nature and wildlife media festival.
UCR worked with Hamline University’s Global Center for Environmental Education (GCEE) and Oxbow Meadows Learning Center to produce this new educational resource for thousands of children to learn about their local waterways and the importance of the river system to the environment, economy, history and future of their state. The CD-ROM and accompanying materials help students learn more about the water cycle, watershed hydrology and ecosystem concepts, as well as important cultural and natural history concepts.
The core of the CD is delivered through a virtual river journey down the length of the Chattahoochee River, which provides a fascinating historical perspective from the early history of Georgia to modern times. During the virtual trip down the River, students explore water quality impacts and visit a high tech virtual water quality lab to learn how to test and evaluate water quality. This media-rich resource brings the Chattahoochee River to hundreds of classrooms to educate the environmental stewards of tomorrow on ways to protect our water resources. In addition, interaction with this CD-ROM will give students a deeper understanding of the historic impact the rivers have had on shaping Georgia.
Teacher Seminars Offered in 2005
Implementation of this project began in 2004 with the distribution of more than 1,000 CDs and a curriculum supplement to selected educational groups. Teacher seminars are being held during 2005 throughout the River Basin, focusing on 4th grade classes; the program which has been correlated with Georgia’s new performance standards.
For locations and dates for the teacher seminars, contact Tammy Morrissey.
About GCEE
GCEE specializes in combining environmental education with cutting-edge distance learning technology. They have developed several multi-media tools and resources to integrate hands-on learning for students and teachers worldwide. GCEE’s CD-ROM Waters to the Sea: the Upper Mississippi River has reached more than 150,000 students throughout the Upper Mississippi basin. This widely used CD-ROM served as the model for the southeastern version featuring the Chattahoochee River.
This project was made possible through support from Coca-Cola North America, The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and Georgia Power Company.
Please also visit these School Programs:
Floating Classroom on Lake Lanier
River Stewardship Trunks
Watershed Patch Project
