The Mason Educational Watershed

The George Mason University Fairfax Campus is located on the headwaters of the Rabbit Branch watershed. We are in a relatively small watershed that ultimately drains into the Chesapeake Bay System. Its richness of streams and a mixture of urban and natural landscape make it the perfect natural laboratory for water resources educational activities. The Mason Educational Watershed is providing an opportunity to closely monitor environmental conditions associated with water resources engineering on our Campus.

This outdoor laboratory provides a learning opportunity to collect atmospheric conditions such as rainfall over the watershed, measure stream flow and, most importantly, develop critical thinking on the effects of urban infrastructure and civil engineering structures on watershed response and flooding. In addition to generating valuable scientific data, which is incorporated into class projects in CEIE 340 and CEIE 641, the projects provide a great opportunity to engage undergraduate students in professional activities and research.