Educator Programs

cbei

CBEI workshops feature diverse and exciting presentations by local experts on topics such as current events, water quality, fish and wildlife, lake history, and field explorations/monitoring. Since 1992, more than 650 educators have participated in CBEI workshops and forums. Learn more about CBEI at WatershED Matters, a website devoted to watershed education in the Lake Champlain Basin and beyond, or contact Colleen Hickey.

“Watershed for Every Classroom” (WEC) 2024/2025 Educator Graduate-Level course

The next session of A Watershed for Every Classroom, begins July 16–19, 2024.
Applications are open! Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until February 12, or until program spaces fill.

The LCBP is a key partner in this year-long, supported professional development program for interdisciplinary teams of K-12 teachers in the Lake Champlain Basin of New York, Vermont, and Quebec. The program offers teachers inspiration, knowledge and skills to frame exciting place-based curriculum. A new session runs every other year, and course sessions are held in July, October, January, March, and May. The next WEC session will begin in July 2024.

Explore the stories of the Lake Champlain Basin as shared by its people, places, and things. Learn how these stories offer multiple ways to teach all subjects; engage students in learning in and about their community; and build their sense of belonging to their home place.

The program is best suited for educators working with grades 4-9, but is applicable to all subject areas and grades.

Program Overview

What to Expect

2024–25 gathering dates

  • July 16–19, 2024
  • October 4–5, 2024
  • January 31, 2025
  • April 11–12, 2025


You should be willing to:

  • Participate in all sessions. Personal transportation will be needed to study sites around Vermont and New York.
  • Complete readings and written reflections and participate in collegial planning and dialogue.
  • Develop a watershed-based teaching unit that integrates the local landscape. The unit will meet the goals of your district’s curriculum and exemplify best practices of place-based education and service learning.
  • Provide a letter of support from your administrator if accepted; this is important to ensure you’ll be giving time during the academic year to join all retreats. 


View a sample Watershed for Every Classroom syllabus.

  • Program fee: $500, includes housing and meals for single overnights happening in July, October, and May. Needs-based scholarships are available once accepted.
  • Educators receive $100 for classroom resources to advance personal watershed learning after the summer retreat. Apply for an additional $200 school mini-grant at the end of the program.
  • Lake Champlain Sea Grant is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s Office of Teaching Initiatives as an approved sponsor of CTLE for Professional Classroom Teachers, School Leaders, and Level III Teaching Assistants. CTLE certificates of completion will be offered for educators in attendance for the full duration of the program. 
  • Optional graduate credits for an additional fee: 3- and 6-credit options are available from Castleton University. 3 credits are available for the summer only portion and 6 credits for the full year. 


World Water Day

Each year the LCBP and the CBEI partners host an annual celebration of World Water Day in March. The event brings together artwork, writing, photography, and videography submitted by classrooms throughout the Basin. Awards are presented for student submissions in several categories, including Spreading the Word, Citizen Science & Civic Action, and Act Locally-Think Globally. The event includes an expert keynote speaker and is open to the public.

International World Water Day was designated by the United Nations in 1992 and is held annually on March 22nd as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

Watch this video about one school project that was incorporated into World Water Day:

Visit the WatershED Matters website to see more student work submitted for World Water Day events →

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