The Clark Fork River and its tributaries drain most of western Montana. The upper river and headwaters were heavily impacted by wastes from over a century of mining. Today, the area is the largest Superfund environmental clean-up site in the nation.
-May 28: Deadline for public comments on Anaconda area Superfund sites.
-June 1: CFWEP Field Trip with Deer Lodge School.
-June 4-6: Butte: The Original film showings at the Motherlode Theatre in Butte.
-June 1: CFWEP Field Trip with Deer Lodge School.
-June 4-6: Butte: The Original film showings at the Motherlode Theatre in Butte.
Clark Fork Education Portal > Education Links
This page is a comprehensive listing of environmental, science, and local history online educational resources. If you would like to suggest a link that we should add, or comment on an existing link, send an email to the CFWEP Webmaster (jringsak@mtech.edu). You may also want to visit our Clark Fork Info > Clark Fork Links page for a listing of online resources related to the Clark Fork and general environmental science and history.
This page is a comprehensive listing of environmental, science, and local history online educational resources. If you would like to suggest a link that we should add, or comment on an existing link, send an email to the CFWEP Webmaster (jringsak@mtech.edu). You may also want to visit our Clark Fork Info > Clark Fork Links page for a listing of online resources related to the Clark Fork and general environmental science and history.
Online Education Resources
| Clark Fork Watershed Superfund Documentation by Todd Trigsted | An artist's perspective on Superfund activities in and around Butte, Montana. |
| Classroom Earth | The National Environmental Education Foundation, in partnership with The Weather Channel, has launched Classroom Earth, a program designed to enhance and strengthen environmental education in high school classrooms nationwide. By harnessing the expertise and passion of teachers and students around the country, Classroom Earth will enrich the high school curriculum by encouraging the inclusion of environmental education into all high school subjects - from biology to art - and make it easier for teachers to access best practices online. The primary goal of the program is to increase the environmental literacy of high school students and to provide models for including environmental education in high school classrooms through the Web. |
| New! Cool Water Hula Blogspot |
In 2000, a group of people decided to help heal Butte’s Berkeley Pit by dancing a Cool Water Hula beside it. Hula is often used in healing. A cool water hula was also danced for Milltown. The Montana Historical Society put the event in a history book used in Montana schools. The original dancers decided to repeat the Pit's cool water hula during the National Folk Festival in July. Everyone is invited to join them, and the public is invited to practice sessions prior to the event: Cool Water Hula 10th Anniversary, Saturday July 10, 2010, Butte Montana, 11 a.m. Bell Diamond Mine Yard Pre-event warmup at 9:30 a.m. in Emma Park, Butte. More Info at coolhula@montana.com coolwaterhula.blogspot.com |
| Discover Montana's Ecosystems | FWP's new "Discover Montana Ecosystems" website is designed to provide educators and families with new, interactive, and entertaining learning opportunities aimed at increasing their youngsters' awareness and understanding of the flora, fauna, and natural processes that are a part of life in Montana. The website was created to meet specific science curriculum standards and is designed to provide upper elementary and middle school teachers with in-the-classroom projects specifically geared to Montana communities. Much of the fish and wildlife information contained within the website is associated with FWP's recently completed Comprehensive Fish and Wildlife Management Strategy, which lists and assesses the condition of 170 fish and wildlife habitats—from the mountains to the prairies—and the animals that live there. |
| Disney Planet Challenge | A highly-acclaimed project-based environmental competition for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classrooms across the United States. |
| ECOS Program - No Child Left Indoor! | A partnership program for enhancing teaching skills of graduate students in the sciences and promoting hands-on science education in K-12 schools. We use the schoolyard and adjacent open areas in western Montana as outdoor laboratories for learning about the environment. |
| Earth Observatory - Berkeley Pit: Butte, Montana | A photograph of the Berkeley Pit and the surrounding area taken from space, accompanied by some basic information about the history of the area and current restoration activities. |
| Educating Young People About Water | Educating Young People About Water (EYPAW) guides and water curricula database provide assistance for developing a community-based, youth water education program. These resources target youth and link educators to key community members to build partnerships to meet common water education goals. |
| Fact Sheet on Butte Ore Production, 1888-2000 (doc) | This brief fact sheet the volumes and types of ore extracted from the Butte hill from 1888-2000. |
| Google Earth | Google Earth is free software that lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean. You can explore rich geographical content, save your toured places, and share with others. |
| Learning Science.org | A free and open learning community for sharing newer and emerging tools to teach science. |
| A Short List of Butte Minerals (pdf) | From Montana Resources, this brief fact sheet lists and describes minerals commonly found in and around the Continental, or East, Pit, the only operating open pit mine in the Butte area. |
| M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust | The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust's mission is to enrich the quality of life in the Pacific Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington) by supporting nonprofit organizations that seek to strengthen the region's educational and cultural base in creative and sustainable ways. The priorities of the Trust's General Grants program include educational programs offered in both formal and informal settings; performing and visual arts projects that enrich the cultural environment of the region; and preventive health and human services programs, with a focus on youth. General Scientific Research Grants and Formal Program Grants in Science are also provided. With the exception of the Formal Program Grants in Science, which has specific deadlines, letters of inquiry may be submitted at any time. Visit the Trust's website for details on each of the grant programs. |
| Montana Environmental Education Association (MEEA) | The MEEA promotes and celebrates an environmentally responsible citizenry through education and the support of a statewide network of professionals, students and volunteers. |
| The Montana Governor and First Lady’s Math and Science Initiative | The Governor and First Lady’s Math and Science Initiative invites Montana’s youth to discover the many opportunities to learn about science and math in K-12 schools and higher education, find out about careers in science and explore Montana’s splendid surroundings. |
| Montana Native Fish Education Project | A program that assists in protection and restoration of Montana’s native coldwater trout, with emphasis on the threatened bull trout and the increasingly rare cutthroat trout. The project is coordinated by long-time bull trout advocates Mike Bader and Jack Tuholske of Missoula, Montana. |
| Montana Natural Heritage Program | The state's source for reliable, objective information and expertise to support stewardship of our native species and habitats, emphasizing those of conservation concern. |
| Montana Natural History Center | The mission of the Montana Natural History Center is to promote and cultivate the appreciation, understanding and stewardship of nature through education. MNHC is a non-profit organization founded in 1991 by a group of educators who had the vision to create a natural history center as a resource for schools and the public. Originally housed on the University of Montana campus, MNHC continued to grow and outgrow its rented space at Fort Missoula. In 2004, MNHC purchased its first home at 120 Hickory Street, at the edge of McCormick Park in the heart of Missoula. |
| Montana Office of Public Instruction Indian Education for All Curriculum Website | A broad collection of lesson plans developed by the State of Montana to support Indian Education for All. |
| Montana Plant & Animal Field Guide | These guides and this website are a collaborative effort between the Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The Animal Field Guide provides information on identification, habitat, ecology, reproduction, range, and distribution of Montana's animals; new features include a hierarchal approach to finding an animal of interest, thumbnail photos of the animals and additional links. The Plant Field Guide offers information on plant species of concern, including references and photographs. |
| Montana Watercourse | A statewide water education program that supports water resource decision making and stewardship by providing unbiased information, resources, tools and education to all water users, housed on the MSU Campus in Bozeman, Montana, and an arm of the Montana Water Center. |
| National Environmental Education Foundation | The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) provides knowledge to professionals who, with their credibility, amplify messages to national audiences to solve everyday environmental problems. |
| National Science Teachers Association | Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the National Science Teachers Association is a member-driven organization, 60,000-strong. NSTA publishes books and journals for science teachers from kindergarten through college. Each year NSTA holds four conferences on science education: three regional events in the fall and a national gathering in the spring. NSTA provides ways for science teachers to connect with one another, and informs Congress and the public on vital questions affecting science literacy and a well-educated workforce. |
| PitWatch | The Web version of PitWatch, an informational newspaper about Butte's Berkeley Pit published by the Berkeley Pit Public Education Committee, with the purpose of educating Butte residents and students about the Berkeley Pit and surrounding underground mine-flooding areas. |
| Plannet Connect | Planet Connect, a component of Classroom Earth, is an online social network where high school students can learn about current environmental issues, funding opportunities, green colleges and environmental careers. Students can also share and exchange ideas about how they are playing a critical role in solving today’s environmental issues. |
While pollinators may come in small sizes, they play a large and often undervalued role in the production of the food we eat, the health of flowering plants, and the future of wildlife. A decline in the numbers and health of pollinators over the last several years poses a significant threat to biodiversity, global food webs, and human health, according to scientists. PollinatorLIVE is continuing last year’s distance learning adventure that focused on monarch butterflies. This year’s FREE distance learning adventure will feature pollinators, citizen science projects, and gardening. In addition, PollinatorLIVE will keep you up-to-date with the latest about monarch butterflies. For more information and to register, go to http://pollinatorlive.pwnet.org. |
|
| New! Project Learning Tree |
Project Learning Tree is an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators, parents, and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12. |
| Project WET - Water Education for Teachers | The mission of Project WET is to reach children, parents, educators, and communities of the world with water education. |
| River of Words | A California-based, nationally known 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. In addition to helping improve children’s literacy—and cognitive skills like investigation and critical thinking—River of Words’ multidisciplinary, hands-on approach to education nurtures students’ creative voices as well, through instruction and practice in art and poetry. |
| New! River XChange |
RiverXchange is a FREE year-long cultural exchange project using water as a theme to teach science, social studies, language arts and computer technology. Motivated 4th or 5th grade teachers can become high tech pen pals with classes in New Mexico, USA. Each class will follow the RiverXchange curriculum to learn about their local river. Students will share what they are learning via a private wiki website about twice per month throughout the school year. For more info, contact Amy White at 505-235-8342 or by email at amelia87102@yahoo.com. For more information about RiverXchange, visit www.waterfestnm.com/riverxchange/. RiverXchange is open to any 4th or 5th grade class in the US or the world, but participation is limited. |
| New! Science, Society & Superfund: A Social History of America’s Largest Superfund Site |
This website from Montana Tech Professor of Science & Technology Studies Pat Munday offers analysis and archival materials about the Upper Clark Fork Basin Superfund complex. The site is supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Science, Technology, and Society award 0646731. |
TeachersDomain.org |
Teachers’ Domain is an online library of more than 1,000 free media resources from the best in public television. These classroom resources, featuring media from NOVA, Frontline, Design Squad, American Experience, and other public broadcasting and content partners are easy to use and correlate to state and national standards. Teachers’ Domain resources include video and audio segments, Flash interactives, images, documents, lesson plans for teachers, and student-oriented activities. Once you register, you can personalize the site using “My Folders” and “My Groups” to save your favorite resources into a folder and share them with your colleagues or students. Teachers’ Domain strives to strengthen teacher knowledge by providing innovative teaching methods that incorporate technology in the classroom and inspire students to learn. |
| TERRA: The Nature of Our World *Video Podcast* | LIFEONTERRA is a collaborative filmspace and laboratory exploring the questions and ideas on the cutting-edge of science and at the farthest horizons of the natural world. The "TERRA: The Nature of Our World" video podcast launched in October 2005. TERRA films have been downloaded over one million times. |
| Trout in the Classroom | Trout in the Classroom (TIC) is an environmental education program in which students in grades k-12 raise trout, monitor tank water quality, engage in stream habitat study, learn about water resources, begin to foster a conservation ethic, and grow to understand ecosystems. During the year each teacher tailors the program to fit his or her curricular needs. Therefore, each program is unique. TIC has interdisciplinary applications in science, social studies, mathematics, language arts, fine arts, and physical education. In each state, Trout in the Classroom is funded by a number of generous supporters and made more rich through varied partnerships. CFWEP is a TIC partner in western Montana. |
| Virtual River Exercises | Two interactive exercises designed to help you learn about river processes like discharge, flooding, and flood frequency. |
| Watershed Education Network | The Watershed Education Network (WEN) started in 1996 as a volunteer effort based in Missoula, Montana. WEN offers monitoring instruction to citizen scientists, professional workshops, and experiential education programs to local schools. |
| WaterSmart Montana | WaterSmart Montana is an educational partnership of six western Montana counties, aimed at highlighting the important role riparian areas play in Montana ecosystems. |
| New! Youth Action Guide for the Study and Stewardship of Community Riparian Areas |
Introduce students or youth group members to riparian areas--what they are, how they function, and why they are important to the community. The Student Action Guide provides information and instructions they will need to explore and understand the "GREEN Zone." Includes Student and Leader Guides and additional resources. |