Outreach and Education

Fun in the Classroom:  Students have lots of fun learning about groundwater and pollution and how it effects the delicate ecosystem. Our staff is available for a variety of classroom presentations. Contact Pat Kirschbaum, Outreach and Education Coordinator, at 360-337-5777.

Stream Signs

Stream signs are designed to increase citizen awareness about streams and watersheds where they live. Stream signs and watershed boundary signs have been produced and installed in locations around the County. If you have questions about these signs or would like to report a missing or damaged sign, please contact 360-337-5777 or openline@co.kitsap.wa.us.

Watershed Maps

Do you know the name of the watershed where you live, work, or go to school?  Do you know its boundaries?  Where does the water flow? Surface and Stormwater Management Program Outreach staff can provide GIS maps with this information. This is a great way to get a sense of place about your watershed and why what you do on the ground can affect a body of water, even if you can’t see that body of water from that place.

Enviroscape Watershed Model

This model can be part of a presentation by Surface and Stormwater Management Program staff or can be borrowed by teachers for their own presentation. Students learn about watersheds and use Kool-aid to initiate different sources of pollution. When students "make it rain", the cumulative impact of pollution is evident. An alternative activity with more emphasis on salmon and salmon habitat is also available.

Where Does the Rain Go ?

What better way to teach students about stormwater and watersheds than to show them what happens in their own backyard. Students are given a map of the watershed where their school is located. They are broken into groups and given a "tour" of the stormwater system on the school grounds-where the water collects, how it flows, what it collects, and where it eventually ends up. Students love to look down in the storm drain when the cover is removed and see what it REALLY looks like. This activity works well with the Enviroscape Model or Storm Drain Stenciling.

Storm Drain Stenciling

This can be a community service project for groups or be a classroom project on the school grounds. All the equipment and supplies are available through Surface and Stormwater Management Program staff. Stencils are painted on the road or sidewalk next to storm drains. These stencils read, "Dump no Waste, Drains to Stream (or Bay or Lake)" with a fish in the center of the stencil. This is a great way to make people in the school or greater community aware of where stormwater runoff and it's associated pollutants can end up.

Salmon Life Cycle Puppet Show

A great activity for elementary students learning about salmon. Puppets, stage, and scenery are available from Surface and Stormwater Management Program Staff as well as presentation and resources on the salmon life cycle. Students divide into five teams. Each team researches, writes a script, and presents a puppet show about one stage of the salmon life cycle. Stick puppets and other props can also be made by the students-this is their opportunity to be creative! The shows can be performed for the class only, or students can invite classes from the younger grades to a full performance by the entire class.

Salmon Tours

In November of each year, Surface and Stormwater Management Program Outreach and Education staff teams with Natural Resource agencies from throughout the County for Salmon Tours.  This event provides an opportunity for participants to visit three or four different sites around the county to view salmon.  At each site, biologists meet with the group to discuss salmon, habitat, human impact, and how that particular site is important to salmon.

Staff contact:  Pat Kirschbaum

Kitsap County Public Works
Surface and Stormwater Management Program
(360) 337-5777 or (800) 825-4940
Kitsap1@co.kitsap.wa.us