The Wetlands at UVa-Wise

Transforming an Environmental Liability into a Community Asset

Educational Resources

Educational Supplies

The Wetlands has educational supplies available for teachers and community groups to use for environmental education. Here's the list!

Field Trip Guides

These field trip guides include a leaders/teachers guide and a lab book for students (with answer keys). So far, only trips for 3rd and 6th grade are available, but maybe we'll get other grades ready someday. They are based on Virginia's Standards of Learning and give kids (and teachers!) a chance to get outside and learn.

Here's a Research Summary that can help guide thinking about how to do field trips and activities.

3rd Grade: Science, Math, and English SOL's are covered. Activities are Aquatic Insects, Soil Study, Plot Survey, Predators and Prey, Water's Incredible Journey, and Wetlands Writings.

3rd Grade Day

3rd Grade Lab Book

3rd Grade Answer Key

6th Grade: Science Math, and English SOL's are covered. Activities are Enviroscape, Wetlands Words, Wetlands Water Testing, Solving the Sediment Problem, and Perfectville.

6th Grade Day

6th Grade Lab Book

6th Grade Answer Key

Lesson Plans

Feel free to use and share these lesson plans! They've been used here at The Wetlands and in classrooms with kids of all ages, from 3rd graders to college students.

A quick one-page write-up of some chemical water testing that students do at The Wetlands:

Water Monitoring One-Pager

Longer write-up of water quality monitoring, including a description of the Enviroscape Model:

Wetlands Water Quality

A 2-day stream ecology lesson designed for high school students (but easily adaptable):

Stream Ecology

Lesson on Aquatic Insects and Lifecycles for 3rd graders (Learning Cycle):

Aquatic Insects Investigation

Comparing soil types, originally designed for a college Science Education class to model inquiry-based lessons:

Soil Comparison Investigation

A series of four activities that introduce students to energy flow in food webs, bioaccumulation of pollutants, and how plants help filter pollutants:

Wetlands Food Chains

Acid Mine Drainage Activities

Everyone loves the classic volcano eruption with baking soda and vinegar, so here's a way to adapt it to an AMD seep:

AMD Volcano Activity

A tasty treat with "AMD" inside:

AMD Cupcakes