This year the District partnered with the Portland Water District (PWD) to bring a series of clean water lessons to Cape Elizabeth Middle School (CEMS). District Educator, Ali Clift, taught PWD WaterWays lessons to 120 CEMS 6th graders.

CEMS students received four lessons over the course of four weeks and learned about the water cycle, common freshwater pollutants, how to identify and name watersheds, and how to design Best Management Practices (BMP) to prevent water pollutants from entering waterways. Each lesson was taught through interactive and hands-on activities to engage students in learning.

Students visibly enjoyed their lessons with Ali and reported that “you taught me a lot about the water cycle that I never knew before. One thing that I learned about is how water moves from place to place.” The District is excited to continue their partnership with PWD into the next school year.

District staff look forward to sustaining partnerships and developing future collaborations to continue CONNECTing youth with their natural resources. Additional partnerships in 2018 included:

• Groundwater and drinking water programs (Yarmouth Water District)

• Erosion, clean water, and pollination lessons (Scarborough School District)

• Human impact on Presumpscot River (Westbrook
  Environmental Improvement Corporation)

• Student-led service learning programs (City of
  Portland)

• WaterWays clean water lessons (Portland Water District)

• Presumpscot River Dam stakeholder process (Windham School District)

• Clean water summer program (Bridgton Library)

• Panther Pond erosion BMP installation (Town of Raymond, Boy Scouts of America)

• Maine Summer Camp pollution investigation (Maine Summer Camps)

For more information on CONNECT Youth Education, please contact District Educators at CONNECT@cumberlandswcd.org.