|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
The Catskill Center provides a wide variety of assistance to schools and youth groups in the region through our Education Program including:
The Catskills: A Sense of Place
A whole series of curriculum guides on the Catskills! This resource helps teachers enliven and enrich their lessons and instill a sense of Catskills pride in their students.
Our emphasis of hands-on learning and process skills makes the guides useful for any teacher who would like to address NYS Learning Standards, listed with each activity. The lessons are designed to fit school curricula. The modules span grade levels 3-12, so students can benefit from these engaging, place-based studies over a period of years.
The Catskill region is home to a magnificent state forest preserve and a wealth of important resources. Our communities offer a distinctive rural character that is fast disappearing from surrounding areas. The Catskills: A Sense of Place (CSP) is designed to give children a better awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the distinctive features of our area. By showing young people what makes our region beautiful and unique, you can help promote active citizenship and a better future for the Catskills!
The Catskills: A Sense of Place is available on this web site, free of charge. Simply download the module you want using the links below. If you prefer, you can order a printed copy of the module. We sell them at cost for $15 each plus $3 shipping and handling. You can have all five for $75 plus $10 S&H. Call 845-586-2611 or mail your order to The Catskill Center, Route 28, Arkville NY 12406. For summaries and help choosing, click here.
Module 1: Water Resources (7.3 Mb .pdf)
Module 2: Geography & Geology (6.3 Mb .pdf)
Module 3: Ecosystems (4.7 Mb .pdf)
Module 4: Human History (8.1 Mb .pdf)
Module 5: Culture & Arts / Building Catskills Communities (12.8 Mb .pdf)The files are in PDF format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader if you don't already have it. Each module takes a long time to download, but your patience will be rewarded with a 200-page curriculum guide that you can save on your hard drive or print out and put in a three-ring binder. You can also preview Module 1 in HTML format.
Some items could not be included in the online version of the modules. For Module 2, you will need a Catskill Region Map, available from our online store. Some lessons in Module 5 require a publication called the Building Improvement File. This very useful resource can be purchased from the National Main Street Center.
Our goal is to support The Catskills: A Sense of Place curriculum by helping teachers incorporate regional studies into their existing curricula. We feel that state requirements can be met through place-based studies, and taking time out for Catskills studies only moves students closer to being able to perform on state exams. Since 2002, we have worked with over 50 science, social studies, English, art, music, math, and special education teachers at Fallsburg, Margaretville, and Onteora districts, and the Otsego-Northern Catskills BOCES. This work is on-going during an entire school year, typically involving daylong sessions in September and June, and half-day visits between.
Additionally we have partnered with Elementary Education staff at SUNY Oneonta to "train" their soon-to-be Catskill region teachers in LSense of Place. It is our belief that by introducing the future educators in the Catskills to CSP prior to their student teaching, they will then incorporate it into their curriculum when they are hired by local districts.
If your school district is interested in getting its "sense of place", please contact Director of Education, Aaron Bennett at (845) 586-2611 or abennett@catskillcenter.org for more information.
We also offer several school programs that support the Catskills curriculum. The most popular is our Streamwatch program, which was developed in partnership with local schools. Streamwatch is a four-day sequence, one hour each day that promotes environmental stewardship and gets kids excited about science by collecting creatures in a local stream. This 4-day program costs $500 for one class, and $100 for each additional. Your school may be eligible to receive a grant through the Catskill Watershed Corporation for this program. Please consult their Education Program’s web page for details.
A great opportunity that exists for K-12 school districts within the NYC Watershed is our Catskill Stream and Watershed Education Program (CSWEP). CSWEP, funded by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s Stream Management Program, is a modified version of Streamwatch. This is a 6-day program (3 in the fall and 3 in the spring) that involves two fieldtrips to the local stream and an in-class visit by Stream Management staff and/or staff from the local County Soil and Water Conservation District. Through CSWEP, students determine the health of their local stream, and hear from experts that are conducting work within their watershed. Please contact Ben Murdock at (845) 586-2611 or bmurdock@catskillcenter.org for more information about (or to sign up for) this FREE program.
The Center has partnered with Hudson Basin River Watch, Riverkeeper and the Stroud Water Research Center to support another terrific water quality monitoring effort that is available to West-of-Hudson teachers and adult volunteers.
The East and West-of-Hudson NYC Watershed Leaf Pack Network®, funded by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, involves participants (student and adult groups) creating an artificial leaf pack (dry leaves in a mesh bag) and placing it in a local stream for 3-4 weeks. After which time, the contents of the packs are then examined, and participants discover the different types of aquatic life that are used as indicators of stream health. After conducting the experiment, student and adult groups can share the information on-line with other groups throughout in the Watershed and around the country. This program is FREE to groups that will be conducting the experiment within the West-of-Hudson NYC Watershed, and Catskill Center staff will provide training and assistance.
Contact Ben Murdock at (845) 586-2611 or bmurdock@catskillcenter.org, for more information. To view Leaf Pack data already posted, and for detailed information about the project, visit the Leaf Pack Network® web site.
Green Connections is a yearlong extension of the Watershed Forestry Institute for Teachers and is designed to establish a partnership between middle school classes in the West-of-Hudson NYC Watershed and in New York City. This unique program is also funded through the Watershed Forestry Program of the Watershed Agricultural Council. The purpose of Green Connections is to educate students about the important connection between water quality and healthy forests.
Classes "connect" with their partners through letters, e-mails, photos and projects. One of these projects involves the growing and planting of tree seedlings in the classroom. All participating classes take field trips to each visit each other’s location. By visiting the watershed and the City, students explore what water and forests mean to their counterparts. Such fieldtrip locations have included Frost Valley YMCA, South Street Seaport, Fort Wadsworth and many others.
To culminate the project, the seedlings are planted alongside a stream in the Catskills that feeds one of the six water supply reservoirs. Other projects have included building models with topographical maps, planning Earth Day celebrations, and mapping water as it travels to the City.
For more information, please contact Regional Educator Julia Goren, at (845) 586-2611, jgoren@catskillcenter.org.
Watershed Forestry Institute for Teachers
The Watershed Forestry Institute for Teachers (WFIT) is an event where Catskill region and NYC teachers come to learn and build their knowledge base about the natural world, specifically the Catskill Mountain region. Its purpose is to provide educators with the knowledge, skills, and tools to explore the connection between watershed forests and water quality. With this foundation, they can more effectively teach their students about the relationships among forest ecology, forest resource management, conservation, and water quality. The WFIT is held annually in July/August.
Participants learn about and receive copies of a variety of curricula and resources. These include The Catskills: A Sense of Place, Project Learning Tree, and Trout in the Classroom, for example. Off-site fieldtrip locations include a nearby reservoir, a model forest, and a wastewater treatment plant, among others.
The WFIT is truly a partnership effort. Our partners include the Watershed Forestry Program of the Watershed Agricultural Council, NYC DEP, USDA Forest Service, Catskill Watershed Corporation, Catskill Forest Association, NYSDEC, Frost Valley YMCA, and Trout Unlimited's Trout in the Classroom. Since 2005, this event has been held at the Menla Mountain Retreat and Conference Center in Woodland Valley.
In addition to curricula and materials, participants receive a $200 stipend, and - more than 35 hours of in-service credit, - meet new friends, - and of course have FUN! Attendance is limited to 20 teachers from NYC and the Catskills. Application deadline in 2008 is May 15th. Applications are considered on factors such as teacher location, background, and subjects/grades taught. Visit the Watershed Forestry Institute for Teachers web site to learn more and to download an application. Contact Regional Educator Julia Goren, at (845) 586-2611, jgoren@catskillcenter.org, with any questions you may have.
© Copyright - The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, Inc. · A private, not-for-profit, membership-supported organization founded in
1969 to help build healthy ecosystems and vibrant communities within the 6,000 square-mile Catskill Mountain region of New York State.
PO Box 504 · Route 28
Arkville, NY 12406
(845) 586-2611
All images are property of The Center, or friends of The Center. Please request permission for use.
Comments or suggestions regarding this site? Email us at cccd@catskillcenter.org
Web site design by Aaron Bennett
