HIgh School Field Investigation Overview

Field Investigations for Prince William County School High School students

are generously provided by partnership with

the Alice Ferguson’s Bridging the Watershed program.  

 

Bridging the Watershed (BTW) is an outreach program of the Alice Ferguson Foundation (AFF), in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) and area schools, designed to promote student academic achievement, personal connections with the natural world, lifelong civic engagement, and environmental stewardship through hands-on curriculum-based outdoor studies in national parks and public lands.

 

To schedule your Field Investigation visit Bridging The Watershed. 

 

This field study is far more than a walk in the park; it is designed to help students make a greater connection, both to their environment and to their work, by doing actual scientific studies in a natural setting and collecting authentic data that has real-world significance. By using national parks as “living laboratories,” students gain a greater understanding of their impact on the environment as well as a greater sense of their responsibility as stewards. All activities in the BTW program, including the field study, are designed to give all students a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience in accordance with the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement.

 

Preparing your students for their BTW Field Investigation: 

 

1. Do the Pre-Lessons with your Students
   All pre-field study activities are designed to help students prepare for the key experience in the BTW program: a field study in a national park.
    
2. Dress Appropriately
   BTW field studies can be done any time of year and in any type of weather.  Unless we are experiencing a severe thunderstorm your students should come prepared to participate in any weather (e.g. dress in layers, rain gear, insect repellant, etc..).  They should also understand that they are going to be working outside, in the field, which means their clothes will probably get dirty.  Be sure to remind them not to wear anything that they would be afraid to cover in mud!  see http://www.fergusonfoundation.org/btw/btw_prepare.shtml
    
3. Lunch
   Remind students to bring their own lunch. If applicable, arrange for cafeteria box lunches.  Field study sites are typically miles from anywhere that sells food.  BTW encourages students to try to bring lunches that are trash free, as trash cans typically are not available.
    
4. Expectations of What They Will Be Doing
    Please review the BTW preparation information with your students. Even better, show this site in class so students can actually see how to (or not to) dress.