An organization called the International Water Institute has two programs to teach students in the Red River basin about water management.
One program is called “River Watch.” The Institute’s Danni Halvorson said it started in 1995 in Minnesota, and expanded to North Dakota in 2013. He says it’s for junior high and high school students. And it’s focused on water quality.
"They're (students) are doing water quality monitoring with equipment professionals use in the field," Halvorson said.
Halvorson said another program is called "River Explorers."
"Students get out on the rivers and streams in kayaks," Halvorson said.
Halvorson said the programs get students outside, and they learn what water quality is, and what affects it.
The Institute has also launched “River of Dreams” – a program for mainly 4th and 5th graders.
"It teaches students what a watershed is and where the water goes," Halvorson said.
Seventeen Minnesota schools and 10 North Dakota schools are involved in “River Watch,” and in River of Dreams, 22 Minnesota and 21 North Dakota schools are part of it.
Halvorson said the overall goal is to teach students about watersheds.
"Some of the basic concepts of watersheds are not taught in a regular curriculum," Halvorson said.
