Nashwaak Watershed Association
Education & Outreach
Upstream/Downstream
The Upstream/Downstream program strives to integrate the New Brunswick elementary science curriculum, with the values that we believe are key to the health of the watershed. Our place-based outdoor programming aims to bring classroom content to life through hands-on field trips in the watershed, focusing on the wonder and complexity that the local bio region and specific site has to offer.
Our sessions take students from the bigger concepts of connected ecological communities, stewardship, and environmental problem-solving to specifics like the relationship between dragonfly nymphs and water quality, or how to identify an Osprey hunting in the Nashwaak Watershed.
Through this programming, we seek to highlight the importance of watersheds, model community care, and celebrate the curiosity of young minds. We really hope you and your students will join us and take the plunge into the depth of experience the Nashwaak Watershed has to offer.
To Book a Field Trip
Send us an e-mail or call (506) 447-9699.
Landowner Outreach
Landowners in the watershed are encouraged to participate in shoreline naturalization. Free site visits are available to waterfront property owners. During these visits staff will provide advice and recommendations for the property then create and implement a planting plan.
Floodplain forests are critically important ecosystems. One of the main benefits they offer to the river is their ability to mitigate flood damage by absorbing large amounts of water and slowing the speed and reducing the height of a flood. Planting silver maples can significantly reduce soil runoff and erosion along a riverbank. A mature silver maple can draw up and release into the atmosphere 200 L of water every hour (Kozlowski and Davies, 1975). In addition, their canopy shades the river and helps to moderate its temperature. Riparian forests (those along the banks of a river) provide habitat for many different species of animals and plants. For these reasons, NWAI is committed to restoring the silver maple floodplain forest communities along the banks of the Nashwaak River.
To Book a Site Visit
Send us an e-mail or call (506) 447-9699.