May is Watershed Awareness Month. To celebrate water and learn more about our local watershed, eight schools sponsored a Make A Splash with Project WET! Water Festival on weekdays during the month of May. The celebrations were designed to engage students from in hands-on water lessons and investigations.

It is the goal of Project WET and our water festival to promotes an awareness of and respect for water resources through a non-biased approach.

Highlights

• This statewide effort, titled "Make a Splash with Project WET," is organized by the New Jersey Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) Program sponsored by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and the Wetlands Institute. The NJDEP provides the grant funds to support each of the festivals. The Water Festival is also being sponsored by the Perrier Group of America (Poland Springs Water and the local water companies as well as local or statewide environmental groups.

• A Water Festival usually consists of six to ten structured learning stations where students actively participate in educational lessons to learn how water is managed or where their drinking water comes from or what river is closest to their school. Students explore more than just the science and history of water. They will learn about the physical property of waters at the H2Olympics Station; they will act as molecules and go on an Incredible Journey; they will taste test waters from five different locations in New Jersey and select their favorite; and, they will discover ways water is managed and shared here in their watershed.

Target Audience(s)
General public, organizations, educators, students of all ages

Additional Information
NJ Project WET
Ray Nichols, Division of Watershed Management
NJDEP, Box 418
PHONE: 609-984-0583 or 609-292-2113
E-mail: njwet@dep.state.nj.us
National Project WET:  www.projectwet.org
teachnjenv: Environmental Education "Projects" Homepage

New Jersey Water Festival Grant Guidelines