Water Education Exemplars Program

Thanks to a Colorado Water Conservation Board Water Plan Grant and sponsors, we are 1% away from fully funding the Water Education Exemplars Project.  

100% of the your donation pays young Coloradans for training, reviews, and professional representation, turning water education evaluation into real career-building work.

Every dollar donated unlocks matching State Water Plan Grant funds, multiplying the reach of each contribution nearly sevenfold.

Your support helps identify and amplify Colorado's best water education resources (Exemplars), giving high-quality programs the recognition and resources to expand and replicate across the state.

About the project: 

“How old will you be in 2050?”

Since release of the Colorado Water Plan, we have been using this guiding question when teaching – with positive, eye-opening responses. This line of thinking also prodded water educators to contemplate how our work can better support the Colorado Water Plan.

In response, the Water Education Exemplars Project was created.

This new external evaluation system serves K-16 students and teachers, distinguishing the best educational resources for learning and teaching about Colorado’s water. The Water Education Exemplars Project applies research-based tools, called the Guidelines for Excellence in Environmental Education, in use since 1996. More than inventorying, exemplars address “key characteristics” of vetted and relevant content, instructional soundness, and engaging lesson delivery. Existing national rubrics capture empirical evidence; a state-specific supplemental factor we call the educational resource’s “Colorado-ness” details how a resource supports the Colorado Water Plan. Each review results in a data-based summary of a resource’s support of academics and water conservation.

For the first time, we have quality control for Colorado water education.

Much of the Water Education Exemplars work is being conducted by young people. A cadre of water-career-interested 16-24-year-olds have been recruited and trained. They are ground-truthing and guiding reviews. These young people are compensated, a best practice in youth development.

Similar evaluation services, if outsourced, would cost around $15,000 per program. Such a cost is beyond the budgets of nearly all providers of Colorado water education.