Volume 17, Number 1, Fall 2006

Listening to the River

Wanda Repke

Working in collaboration to address community needs has a long, successful history in Grand Traverse County. From receiving two 21st Century Community Learning Center grants to being awarded a U.S. Department of Education Physical Education for Progress grant, Grand Traverse County community collaborations provide documented impacts for youth and adults.

Through our partnership with the Listening to the River project, 4-H is supporting non-formal science and environmental educational and youth development experiences for students, parents, schools, volunteers and community members. The coalition includes Land Information Access Association, Northwestern Michigan College’s Great Lakes Water Studies Institute, Great Lakes Children’s Museum and Interlochen Public Radio (IPR).

What is Listening to the River?

Listening to the River is a multidisciplinary non-formal education project that engages students, during out-of-school time, in the scientific exploration and documentation of their local watershed. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation’s Informal Science Education Division and includes:

Watershed Discovery. Youth teams (ages 11-17) join adult volunteers and science/technology experts to explore and document their local watershed using state-of-the-art mapping and multimedia technology.

Soundscapes Radio Segments. Working with IPR staff, students can document their watershed discovery with advanced sound recording technology and produce radio segments for IPR.

Waterscapes: Traveling Children’s Museum or Science Center Exhibits. Content collected in the field is used to create immersive exhibits that recreate exploring a watershed. Exhibits communicate the concepts of watershed science to an elementary-aged audience.

Listening to the River Web site. The Web site (www.listeningtotheriver.org) will provide project information, deliver education resources, serve as a project management site and be used to collect and display watershed data and multimedia information.

Grand Traverse MSU Extension 4-H supports the project’s goals by:

• Providing staff time and expertise as a Listening to the River team leader in adult volunteer mentor recruitment, screening and youth development training, and also youth participant recruitment.
• Providing youth and adults with access to research-based, age-appropriate educational materials for environmental out-of-school projects and youth development “ages & stages” topics.
• Offering interested youths and adults access to additional out-of-school learning opportunities such as Listening to the River programs.
• Offering teens the opportunity to apply for a Michigan 4-H Youth Conservation Council (M4-HYCC) position. M4-HYCC helps Michigan teens who are interested in environmental issues become involved with state and local governments to help resolve those issues. M4-HYCC was created by the Michigan Senate in 1999 and is coordinated by Michigan 4-H Youth Development. Teens from each region in Michigan may apply to participate in M4-HYCC.
• Assisting the collaboration with local, regional, state and national dissemination of project materials and “lessons learned” through professional out-of-school time, youth development and 4-H staff conferences.
• Actively supporting all program evaluation efforts.
• Actively serving on the advisory/steering committee.

The ultimate goal? A better understanding of the nature of our watersheds!