Stormwater KC to the Sea

The City of Kansas City, MO is planning to improve their Swope Campus (comprised of the Parks and Recreation Headquarters and the Water Services Department) as an education lab for Best Management Practices (BMPs). In addition to the transformation of the campus into series of outdoor learning labs, the Departments had the vision to integrate the campus with an elementary school curriculum that meets state educational requirements and showcases how each member of society has a role in protecting the health of the watershed and enhancing the quality of life for those living downstream.

BNIM worked with local teachers and two non-for-profit organizations—a curriculum and training development consultant and a grassroots community organization that engages Kansas Citians in protecting and restoring the Blue River watershed—to develop and design Stormwater from KC to the Sea: An Experimental Curriculum for students.

The curriculum is interactive, asking students to work in cooperative groups on activities that include questions and situations about their community’s water quality. In addition to the student resources generated, a comprehensive teacher instruction book was created by BNIM and the team to enable educators to guide the students through the classroom exercises. The curriculum invites students to hypothesize about what will happen to their watershed, interact in a real setting, observe natural systems, and collect data about their observations. It will prepare students to respect water throughout their lives and recognize the importance of protecting this vital resource.