Professional Development

Professional Development

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About Professional Development...

Join the Pontchartrain Conservancy's Education Department in a series of workshops for middle and high school science educators that will provide hands-on experience with a variety of environmental topics and minikits for use with your students.

  • Free for 6th - 12th grade Title I science educators.*
  • Will be limited to 10-15 educators per session.
  • The workshops are place-based and can take place throughout the Pontchartrain Basin.
  • Participating Title I educators will receive free minikits for use with their students on the featured topic.
Interested in participating in an educator workshop? Click here to book a workshop for you, your school, or your organization.
*For non-Title I participants, there is a sliding scale fee, and kits can be purchased. 

Water Quality and Aquatic Macroinvertebrates

Learning to ID aquatic macroinvertebrates (Photo by Kimberly Cooke)
Learning to ID aquatic macroinvertebrates (Photo by Kimberly Cooke)

What are aquatic macroinvertebrates? How can we use their presence to determine the potential water quality of a local waterway? Attend this hands-on workshop to find the answers to these questions. Use a dip net to collect organisms. Learn to ID the various species and what their presence means for the health of the water. Explore the mini-kit contents here.

Multiple Lines of Defense Strategy

Educators use a model to design coastal protections from storm surge. (Photo by Kimberly Cooke)
Educators use a model to design coastal protections from storm surge. (Photo by Kimberly Cooke)

How are coastal communities impacted by hurricanes? What lines of defense are employed to protect these low-lying areas? Attend this hands-on workshop to find the answers to these questions. Make predictions and design a line of defense strategy to protect a coastal community. Explore the mini-kit contents here.

Marine Debris and Microplastics

Educators search for nurdles in a soil sample. (Photo by Kimberly Cooke)
Educators search for nurdles in a soil sample. (Photo by Kimberly Cooke)

What is marine debris? What are microplastics? How are they impacting our waterways? How can we mitigate their effects? Attend this hands-on workshop to find the answers to these questions. Collect and classify debris and learn how to bring a neighborhood-focused stewardship initiative to your school. Explore the mini-kit contents here (coming soon).

Coastal Land Loss and Mitigation

Aerial photo of Isle de Jean Charles, LA (Source: Ronald Stine)
Aerial photo of Isle de Jean Charles, LA (Source: Ronald Stine)

What is coastal land loss? What are the primary causes? What can we do about it?  Attend this hands-on workshop to find the answers to these questions. Make predictions and use a stream table to experiment with causes and mitigation of coastal land loss. Explore the mini-kit contents here (coming soon).

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