Duwamish River Program
The Duwamish River Program was originally piloted in 2019 by IslandWood’s Urban School Programs team, in collaboration with Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle Public Schools, Community Health Advocates, and the Duwamish River Community Coalition, to teach the social and ecological history of the river that lies at the heart of their community. However, due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program was put on pause.
This fall we are thrilled to announce we are bringing the Duwamish River Program back! Thanks to support from Seattle Public Utilities, we’re able to offer the program for free to schools in the Duwamish River Valley. Students will learn how the Duwamish River has been impacted by people over many years, and how local communities and groups have made improvements to the ecosystem.
The program, designed for 4th – 5th grade students, consists of a 1-hour pre-lesson at school, and a 3-hour exploration of the Duwamish River by Argosy boat.
The program is offered only to schools that are located within the Duwamish River Valley and is not available for open registration.
Students will gather water quality and riverside habitat data, hear from community experts about how they are helping the river become healthier, and create a poster to share their vision for the future of the Duwamish River.
- Students will feel an increased connection to the Duwamish River and surrounding ecosystems and learn how its health impacts their community.
- Students will learn they have individual impact as change-makers in their communities to steward the health of the Duwamish River.
- Students will learn strategies on preserving and protecting the river for future generations.
Read more about the program, how it was developed, how it’s different from other IslandWood programs, and what we hope children will take away from it in this blog post.
“It was so wonderful to see learning come alive for my kids in such an active and engaging way. This is how education should be, hands-on and out in our community! I’ll be able to make connections to this in the classroom for the rest of the year. Thank you again for making such a powerful learning experience for our kids. It takes a village! Go Duwamish River!”
– Carly G., Teacher
![[Image description: a photo of Celina Steiger and a group of students on the deck of the Argosy boat during the Duwamish River Program. They are looking towards the shore of the river.]](https://islandwood.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/image6.png "image6")
The Program in Action
Get a glimpse of what the Duwamish River Program entails with this video of Maple Elementary’s experience!
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