What is a MWEE?

A MWEE is a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience.  From the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality website: 

"As defined by the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership, a “MWEE is an investigative or experimental project that engages students in thinking critically about the Bay watershed. MWEEs are not intended to be quick, one-day activities; rather, they are extensive projects that allow students to gain a deep understanding of the issue or topic being presented. Students participate in background research, hands-on activities and reflection periods that are appropriate for their ages and grade levels.”

MWEEs are experiences that:

• are investigative or project oriented.
• are richly structured and based on high-quality instructional design.
• are an integral part of the instructional program.
• are part of a sustained activity.
• consider the watershed as a system.
• involve external sharing and communication.
• are enhanced by natural resources personnel.
• are for all students.

The 2014 Chesapeake Bay Agreement Environmental Literacy Goal states: Enable every student in the region to graduate with the knowledge and skills to act responsibly to protect and restore their local watershed.

The Student Outcome for this goal is: Continually increase students’ age-appropriate understanding of the watershed through participation in teacher-supported, meaningful watershed educational experiences and rigorous, inquiry-based instruction, with a target of at least one meaningful watershed educational experience in elementary, middle and high school depending on available resources."

There are a number of online resources for MWEEs, and many of those are collected in the Resources area of this website.  One of the best, and most thorough introductions, is provided by the Chesapeake Bay Program.  On this site you'll find a good explanation of MWEEs as well as several videos walking you through the components of a MWEE.  They also provide links to a downloadable MWEE Guide and MWEE Planning Toolbox (both files are PDF.)