Preparing Stormwater Stewards

Stormwater Explorers is an educational program created by the Town of Farragut’s stormwater program designed to educate students on how to be good stewards of our local and national water resources. The program puts emphasis on stormwater and the impact it has on water quality. Stormwater flows directly into our streams and rivers untreated. This water ultimately drains to the ocean, so we as humans must do all that we can to ensure that the water reaching the oceans is as clean and healthy as it can possibly be.

Curriculum

Stormwater Explorers covers many topics including, but not limited to:

• Watersheds
• Pollutants
• Water chemistry
• Erosion control
• Low impact development (LID) practices
• Responsible water habits

Town staff will work with educators to determine the best curriculum for your students.

Where

Lessons take place at the Outdoor Classroom by Farragut High School. The Outdoor Classroom was completed in 2014 as an educational tool for all those who wish to use it. A stretch of Turkey Creek runs alongside the classroom, allowing for hands-on lessons about stream behavior and ecology. Arrangements can also be made for lessons to be held in classrooms of participating groups if traveling to the Outdoor Classroom is a hardship or if there are many students attending (>25). We strongly encourage the use of the Outdoor Classroom due to its many stormwater management demonstration areas that have been built into the site and are utilized during lessons.

When

The program is offered in the spring and fall semesters and consists of one 45 minute to 1.5 hour session every week for 4-6 weeks. However, it is possible to adjust the schedule to meet the needs of the group. Sessions can be held every other week or twice a week if the group prefers. Session scheduling can be arranged by contacting the Town of Farragut’s Stormwater Coordinator, Lori Saal. (lsaal@townoffarragut.org; 865-966-7057)

Who

The program was designed with grades 6th-12th in mind, but the curriculum can be easily modified for younger students.

Sessions will be led by the Town of Farragut’s AmeriCorps member. AmeriCorps, sometimes described as a domestic Peace Corps, is a voluntary civil service program in which members commit to a term of service dedicated to education, public safety, health care, and environmental protection. Every year, the Town of Farragut hosts an AmeriCorps member as a Water Quality Technician who assists the Stormwater Coordinator and leads educational outreach programs.

FAQs

Are home-schooled groups welcome? Yes! Students of all kinds are welcome.

If our group is home-schooled, are chaperones needed? No chaperones are needed. Students may be dropped of and picked up from the Outdoor Classroom.

What is the minimum number of students that must be in a group? There is no strict minimum. However, at least three students is preferred.

Do the students need to read or do anything before attending? The students may read introductory material of their teacher’s choosing, but it is not required. All introductory topics are covered in the lesson plan.