Ohio River Foundation
4480 Classic Drive
VCincinnati, OH 45241
River Explorer and Mussels in the Classroom
This is a request for funding of our school education programming. The two offerings for which we seek funding are: (1) River Explorer - Using a variety of nets to catch different creatures and then studying them in aquaria, and perform water quality testing and other activities, students (grades 4-12) in greater Cincinnati investigate and learn about river ecology, pollution, and habitat protection; and (2) Mussels in the Classroom (MIC) where students are provided mussels and aquaria to care for, monitor, and learn about these ecologically important animals. To also further develop environmental literacy, we are distributing the book Russell the Mussel to MIC students in grades 4-6.
Program Goals:
For the two programs the goals are: (1) spark interest in environmental science and STEM subjects, (2) connect the concept of watersheds to 4th through 12th grade science and social studies core content, (3) encourage interest in conservation careers. These goals will be achieved by: (1) training educators and supporting a part-time education programs coordinator and full-time education programs manager, (2) researching schools within a given radius of RE trip sites and soliciting STEM teachers at those schools, and (3) marketing MIC to schools region-wide, with a special focus on inner city schools to provide this unparalleled program to underprivileged students.
For 2023, we continued to witness a rebound in our program attendance as the impact of COVID19 on school field trip decisions waned. However, we were still cautious of full resumption at historic levels of ~3,500 River Explorer students. So, we forecasted 2,750 CY2023 River Explorer students in Greater Cincinnati and at least 1,750 MIC students in Greater Cincinnati.
Program Results:
Since 2005, ORF has educated more than 63,000 students. In 2023, more than 5,100 students from 57 schools across three major metro areas (greater Cincinnati, Columbus, and Lexington, KY) participated in RE and MIC. Through our programs, we provided over 1,800 hours of programming to students in 2023.
We have successfully achieved nearly all of our goals and objectives for 2023. By engaging students in our STEM programs we have connected the concept of watershed to school core content through. We have connected hundreds of high school students with hands-on experience in conservation careers. This has been achieved by training and retaining an excellent staff of part-time educators as well as bringing on board a full-time Education Programs Manager in early 2023. We have created and implemented a thoughtful marketing and communications plan to engage more schools and teachers with a special focus on Cincinnati Public Schools serving economically disadvantaged students.
In just greater Cincinnati 43 schools and 4,039 students participated in our programs in 2023. RE served 2,104 students from 27 schools and MIC served 1,835 students from 16 schools. One Title 1 School received a free RE trip for 88 total students.
Website:
http://www.ohioriverfdn.org Amount: $25,000
Date: March 2023
