Posted: October 30, 2024
River School ushers in a new wave of hands-on learning on the Ottawa River
We have been blown away by the positive response that our first season of River School has received! We’re happy to share some stories from this first season, and now that this long-held dream of the organization is finally a reality, we can’t wait to see this success continue.
Ottawa Riverkeeper is thrilled to celebrate the incredible success of River School’s remarkable first season. After years of envisioning a program that would bring students face-to-face with the Ottawa River’s natural beauty and fascinating science, we launched River School this fall. The response has been beyond our expectations.
In September and October alone, River School connected nearly 2,000 students and 200 teachers to our watershed through hands-on workshops. Our fall workshops filled up quickly, and demand is already stretching into the spring, underscoring the need for this kind of river-focused education.
By the end of December, our Education Team is scheduled to have delivered 86 River School workshops: 26 at the Learning Lab and 57 in schools across Ottawa-Gatineau, immersing students in unique place-based learning that deepens their understanding of and appreciation for the river. By year-end, we’re on track to reach over 4,000 students—a fourfold increase in our educational programming compared to 2023.
We’re thrilled to see such enthusiasm and look forward to continuing to inspire students as we bring River School into schools over the winter and welcome them back to the Learning Lab in the spring, and beyond.
Ottawa Riverkeeper has been dreaming of River School for many, many years. In 2018, then Riverkeeper Meredith Brown wrote in the Ottawa Citizen:
Canada is a nation not just of lakes and oceans but of rivers. Ottawa is built at the confluence of three, the Rideau, Gatineau and Ottawa, and lies within the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem. In our nation’s capital, diverse minds come together and make decisions that influence the future of our water. Ottawa needs a River School to connect youth to water and to help guide and inspire our future water leaders.
– Meredith Brown (Aug 21, 2018, “Why Ottawa needs a ‘River School‘“).
To finally see this dream come true, and have it resonate so strongly with students and teachers alike, is a stunning endorsement for the program and showcases that this kind of river education is needed. We strongly believe that people protect what they love. By having students build a connection to the Ottawa River and local waterways, they learn to understand the importance of the river in their lives as well as their vital role in taking care of the river.
Combining learning and community action
Ottawa Riverkeeper’s Education Program extends its impact beyond traditional classroom settings, fostering meaningful environmental action in local communities. Recently, we implemented a comprehensive three-phase workshop series at l’École secondaire de l’Île in Gatineau, QC. These workshops were given as part of the Quebec Culture and Citizenship course, demonstrating our program’s adaptability to various educational contexts.
The series began with an interactive watershed workshop for 200 students, introducing key concepts and emphasizing the importance of watershed protection. This foundation was then matched with a hands-on community cleanup initiative, where students collected over 1000 pounds of waste! The series concluded with an in-depth workshop on plastic pollution, focusing on the critical issue of microplastics.
This experiential learning approach not only aligned with curriculum objectives but also provided students with real-world conservation skills and insights into local environmental challenges. Such comprehensive programming exemplifies how educators can effectively integrate environmental education into their teaching, promoting both academic learning and active citizenship.
Getting hands-on with river science
Our workshops span a broad spectrum of topics, carefully designed to complement Ontario and Quebec school curricula. Students from various institutions, including Fisher Park School, Fielding Drive Elementary, Ashbury School, Inuuqatigiit Learning Centre, and CÉGEP Heritage College, have participated in a wide variety of workshops.
These include learning about water quality, using Water Rangers Sampling and analysis Kits, exploring invasive and native species on a self-guided hike, and learning about the fascinating interconnections of species in the river – such as the hickorynut and the sturgeon – through our Biodiversity workshops.
A popular feature of many workshops is the interactive watershed model, which demonstrates the impact of stormwater runoff and highlights actionable steps for river protection. These practical experiences reinforce scientific concepts while promoting critical thinking about environmental stewardship.
Many teachers choose to borrow this model from our Learning Library to enhance their existing water units.
Weaving together ways of knowing
The Ottawa River watershed has been the traditional territory of the Anishinābeg Algonquin Nation since time immemorial, and their knowledge and stewardship are central to its preservation. We are co-creating our educational programming with Indigenous knowledge holders in ways that weave together Indigenous knowledge and western science.
Over the past year, Indigenous youth have been building a birch bark canoe in the Learning Lab, guided by Pinock Smith, a knowledge holder from Kitigan Zibi. The valuable lessons coming from this process will be part of future River School programs.
Looking ahead, we’re also excited about our developing partnerships with the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) Indigenous Education departments. These collaborations will align our workshops more closely with Indigenous perspectives and educational programs, ensuring our curriculum is both inclusive and culturally relevant.
It’s your turn to learn!
Ottawa Riverkeeper provides a range of educational resources through its River School program, offering hands-on activities, digital materials, and engaging games via the Learning Library.
Educators and community organizations can easily book workshops using our online form, which accommodates sessions at schools within 150 km of Ottawa/Gatineau or at our Learning Lab in the NCC River House. While we welcome inquiries from all schools, our current priority is to support Quebec public schools and schools in under-served communities, ensuring equitable access to vital environmental education across the Ottawa River watershed.
We invite you to join us in this vital educational endeavour by supporting our programming through the promotion of our resources or donating to The Big River Give! Together, we can secure a sustainable future for the Ottawa River, creating a legacy of environmental stewardship that will flow through generations to come.
We would like to thank our funders: NSERC’s PromoScience, CIBC, Fondation Choquette-Legault, Fonds Vert-Ville de Gatineau, Leacross Foundation, Ottawa Senators Community Foundation, TD Friends of the Environment, and the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition whose generous donations have allowed us to launch an amazing start to River School!
