Amherst County Public Schools is leading in our area with the Trout in the Classroom initiative. This program connects students with their local watersheds and fosters a conservation ethic for our local habitat. This program teaches students how to raise trout from eggs to fingerlings while monitoring the classroom tank’s water quality. Students discover the life cycle of the trout with a hands-on, interactive approach to life science and biology. Students engage in stream habitat studies when releasing the trout into the wild. They learn the importance of appreciating our water sources and develop an understanding of our ecosystem’s connectivity.

This video capstones the four part series of the B-WET grant program in Amherst County Public Schools. ACPS offer authentic experiential learning for our students and teachers!

James River Association staff help ACPS 7th graders conduct water quality tests and other watershed investigations. Through these meaningful watershed experiences, ACPS students learn how the James River impacts life here in Amherst County. All 7th grade students are eligible to participate through the NOAA B-WET Grant.


The NOAA B-WET program funds locally relevant, authentic experiential learning for K-12 students and educators through Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs). MWEEs are multistage activities that include learning both outdoors and in the classroom and aim to increase understanding and stewardship of watersheds and related ecosystems. Whether working with students directly or providing professional development to educators, B-WET grants empower students to investigate local and global environmental issues that affect their lives, choices, and communities. Students identify actions to address these issues, enabling them to help to understand, protect, and restore watersheds and related ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems. (source: https://www.noaa.gov/office-education...)