Virtual watershed excursions
The virtual watershed excursions take web site visitors on virtual tours of watersheds within the SWFWMD.
Peace River watershed excursion
Southern Coastal watershed excursion
The Green Swamp
Springs Coast watershed excursion
Hillsborough River watershed excursion
The Youth Education Section helps the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) achieve its mission of preserving and protecting the water resources and related systems through education programs and materials for teachers and students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12.
Curricula, kits and water resources newsletters
Youth Education newsletters and curricula contain information, activities and articles on a variety of water resources issues and are correlated to Sunshine State Standards. Newsletters include Little Ripples (pre-kindergarten), Sprinkles (grades K–2), WaterDrops (grades 3–5), WaterWeb (grades 6–8) and Currents (grades 9–12). These free materials are available as individual copies or as class sets. Additional materials, including Water Conservation Kits, Watershed Education Resources Boxes, coloring sheets, activity booklets, pencils and tattoos, are also available through the Youth Education Section.
Order or download our educational materials for free.
Educator training
Workshops are free and provide formal and nonformal educators with information on water resources in the SWFWMD, as well as hands-on activities and strategies for addressing watershed issues. In addition, the SWFWMD is the official distributor of Project WET materials in west-central Florida.
Workshops available
Project WET
Healthy Water, Healthy People
Great Water Odyssey
Envirothon support
The Envirothon is a problem-solving, natural resources education program for high school students that allows them to use critical-thinking skills to solve problems or conduct hands-on investigations about forestry, soils, aquatics, wildlife and current environmental issues.
Mini-grant funding
Splash! mini-grants provide teachers with funding to do classroom projects on water quality, water conservation, alternative sources, water supply or watersheds. The goal of this mini-grant program is to promote hands-on water education that teaches students about their local watersheds and the water resources within them. Splash! mini-grants are available for public, private, charter and home school groups. Splash! mini-grants offer up to $5,000 per school group on a reimbursement basis only. Applications are due in early August and are available online.
Speaking engagement support
Speakers may be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis to present on various topics relating to southwest Florida’s water resources.
Contact us
For more information please contact the Youth Education Section at 1-800-423-1476, ext. 4757, or email us.
