Leading the nation with clean water solutions...
Watershed and stormwater professionals face ever-increasing regulatory requirements, prompting a need for more staff, more technical expertise, and more resources. The Center is dedicated to providing these practitioners with the skills and the tools they need to do more effective and efficient watershed work. We offer technical training on specific watershed management topics through our annual Watershed and Stormwater Webcast Series and our on-site training. We have also trained our audiences through university courses, videos, webinars, institutes, and conferences. Our goal is to understand the training needs of the client and to tailor our training materials to suit unique training objectives and budgets.
Since 2009, the Center has been providing high quality webcasts for stormwater and watershed professionals. Over the past six years, an estimated 17,000 professionals have participated in the Center’s webcasts.
If you have to miss a 2017 live webcast, you can purchase and view it within 60 days of the original airing.
Launched in 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland, the Clean Water Certificate Training Program helps participants gain green infrastructure installation, maintenance and inspection skills. The program is part of Civic Works’ three-month Stormwater Installation and Maintenance Technician training and certification program that will provide key workplace knowledge and ultimately, a successful career in the stormwater industry.
The inaugural Certificate Training program — a partnership between Civic Works and the Center for Watershed Protection with input from stormwater industry professionals — runs from May 19 to June 16, 2017. It will benefit the environment, Baltimore City’s economy and, especially, the lives of the 10 city residents selected to participate. It also satisfies a critical need in the stormwater industry: employers have significant hiring needs for skilled individuals, which they expect to be met by this training program.
Participants were selected through a rigorous application process. They were unemployed or underemployed at the time of enrollment and were selected for their drive, motivation and commitment to pursuing a career in stormwater management.
The Center for Watershed Protection developed a three-week stormwater green infrastructure curriculum to include classroom learning, hands-on activities and field-based assessments allowing program participants to acquire core skills and knowledge in the construction, maintenance and inspection of green infrastructure.
This three-week technical training program is part of a comprehensive three-month workforce development program provided by Civic Works to include essential skills training, workplace safety and on-the-job training.
Funding for the program was provided by The Campbell Foundation, France-Merrick Foundation and Prince Charitable Trusts.
The Center for Watershed Protection hopes to expand the program to communities across the U.S. in the coming years.
What stormwater industry and educational professionals are saying about the program:
“This curriculum is equivalent to a few years of job training, says Michael Peny of Angler Environmental, a Resource Environmental Solutions (RES) company. “The training provides the basic skills and knowledge an entry level employee needs to have on the job site, and covers additional areas that will provide opportunities for advancement.”
“The curriculum engages program participants using a variety of teaching tools that translate the classroom material to practical and hands-on experiential learning,” says Amy Kincaid, Change Matters.
“This training will prepare participants for jobs in our industry,” says Theodore Scott of Stormwater Maintenance & Consulting. “The stormwater training curriculum provided by the Center, along with the workforce development programming delivers on both the technical and workforce preparedness skills we are looking for in employees.”
“You have provided a comprehensive training,” says Capri St. Vil, The Corps Network. “I am impressed with the development of the curriculum that truly meets the needs of the program participants to address a variety of learning styles and I like the use of the ‘Living Lab’.”
The Center provides customized on-site training for watershed and stormwater professionals so that they can better understand, select and apply the most appropriate protection and restoration strategies for their watersheds.
Our workshops can be tailored to meet the needs of a wide range of audiences, including watershed groups, engineers, government personnel, stormwater managers, developers, watershed planners, public officials, environmental organizations and others interested in watershed protection. Training workshops generally run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and range from 1-3 days. Half-day training sessions are also available. A typical workshop day may include some combination of the following:
Our staff can speak on a wide variety of topics, including:
You can select from this wide range of topics, or Center staff may develop new sessions designed to address your unique training needs.
Workshop costs vary widely depending upon the length of the workshop, the degree of customization required, and the course materials provided. Cost includes preparing materials and providing two to three technical speakers per day. Additional fees include reproduction of support materials and travel expenses. A detailed scope of work and budget is prepared on a case-by-case basis for every workshop. The Center reserves the right to assign the most appropriate technical staff to the workshop.
For more information on training contact Neely Law at nll@cwp.org.
