Environmental Literacy & Sustainability
MWEE: Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience
What is MWEE?
MWEEs support high-quality teaching and learning by actively engaging students in building knowledge and meaning through hands-on experiences.
A MWEE is a powerful educational tool that:
Increases student engagement & enthusiasm for learning
Supports student achievement
Advances 21st century skills and career-readiness
Promotes environmental stewardship & civic responsibility
MWEE Essential Elements include
Issues Definition
Outdoor Field Experiences
Synthesis and Conclusions
Stewardship and Civic Action
Upcoming MWEE Professional Learning Opportunities
Join us for a one day symposium to learn about the Environmental Literacy and Sustainability (EL&S) part of the PA STEELS Standards. Event is FREE and open to all formal and nonformal educators.
Audience: K-12 Educators and Administrators
Date: Tuesday, June 18th
Time: 10:00-2:00pm
Teaching Green Symposium (Flyer) (2).pdfUnlock the transformative potential of hands-on environmental literacy and science education with our full-day, GLOBE train-the-trainer workshop! GLOBE offers FREE interdisciplinary learning resources for educators. Through engaging outdoor activities and protocols, discover how GLOBE enhances higher-order thinking and science process skills while promoting environmental literacy and sustainability. This workshop highlights GLOBE's compatibility with the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) framework, supporting PA Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Standards. Join us to help students become stewards of their environment. Please be advised that the day will involve both indoor and outdoor learning experiences, so plan to dress accordingly.
Audience: K-12 Educators and Administrators
Date: Thursday, June 27, 2024
Time: 9:00 am-4:00 pm
How can you teach your students about watersheds without easy water access? MWEE is a framework that focuses on student-led investigations into local, place-based, environmental issues and challenges students to increase their environmental literacy though an action project. But what can you do if you don't have a stream or pond in your school yard? In this workshop you will join professionals from the BCIU and DCNR for a hands-on exploration of your school yard as a watershed. Participants will be introduced to the MWEE framework, explore the new PA STEELS standards, and participate in activities from the Project WET curriculum that showcase ways to use a typical school yard as an outdoor classroom for watershed investigation - even if the school doesn't have a stream or pond on site. All participants will receive a copy of the Project WET 2.0 Curriculum and Activity guide that is filled with additional water and watershed-based lessons for both inside and outside the classroom, plus access to online lessons through the project WET portal for one year.
Audience: K-12 Educators and Administrators
Date: Tuesday, August 6, 2024
Time: 8:30 am- 3:30 pm
Enroll in our introductory MWEE FLEX course today!
Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Standards (STEELS)
Environmental Literacy and Sustainability standards are included in the STEELS standards. ELS standards are designed for grade level bands K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. You can find the ELS standards on the STEELS Hub, and/or access the standards documents via our shared STEELS Standards Google Drive folder.
Grades K-2 Foundation Boxes Environmental Literacy and Sustainability
Grades 3-5 Foundation Boxes Environmental Literacy and Sustainability
Grades 6-8 Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Foundation Boxes
Grades 9-12 Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Foundation Boxes
PDE content advisor Tammie Peffer shares more about the ELS standards in this informational webinar.
Borrow MWEE Materials for Your Classroom/Outdoor Learning Experiences!
Our Berks STEM Lending Library has four categories of MWEE materials available for teachers to use with students on-site.
View our MWEE catalogs on the STEM Lending Library website, view the availablity calendars, and complete the reservation forms to request materials.
