Friends of Ballona Wetlands hosts Project WET Training!

On Saturday, March 15th, the Explore Ballona!® Environmental Education Team led a Project WET Workshop, in collaboration with Loyola Marymount University and their Center for Undergraduate Teacher Preparation. Friends of Ballona Wetlands offered an opportunity for current and future teachers to gain professional development in environmental education, specifically through the Project WET certification training.

Project WET is a hands-on, science-based water education resource for formal and non-formal educators worldwide. These resources encourage responsible environmental stewardship and promote meaningful action to address environmental challenges, climate change, social justice, and sustainability. As an organization that works to protect the last coastal wetland of Los Angeles, we believe water education is an important step in protecting our waterways.

Our FBW Environmental Education Team—Carolyn Everhart, Xiomara Limón, and Ammy Rojas—are all certified Project WET Facilitators who led this training for students in the teacher credentialing program at LMU. During the workshop, participants engaged in hands-on activities, explored the Ballona Freshwater Marsh to discover the local flora and fauna, and learned about how humans can have positive or negative impacts on natural spaces. The workshop highlighted the relationship between humans and nature, and the important role that educators play in fostering the next generation of environmental stewards. Each participant also received the Project WET Foundations of Water Education guidebook at no cost, thanks to the generous funding provided by the California Department of Water Resources. These guidebooks serve as a valuable resource for teaching water literacy both in and outside the classroom.

We would like to thank LMU for their help and support in making this event happen, and hope to continue being a resource for all educators in the community.