News and Articles
04/25/2011
Santa Fe County Co-Sponsors Innovative RiverXchange Outreach Project Involving Over 2,000 Fifth Grade Students
Santa Fe County Co-Sponsors Innovative RiverXchange Outreach Project Involving Over 2,000 Fifth Grade Students From Around the United States and World
Santa Fe, NM - April 25, 2011 - Pojoaque Valley Intermediate School fifth grade classes will attend a field trip on Tuesday, April 26 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. at the New Mexico State University (NMSU) Alcalde Sustainable Agriculture Science Center. Students will become “scientists” for the day to learn about acequias and agriculture.
“The Santa Fe County Water Conservation Program is committed to the conservation, preservation and sustainability of water resources for the region’s communities and residents,” said Duncan Sill, Santa Fe County Economic Development. This year, with support from a United States Bureau of Reclamation Grant, the program is sponsoring 10 local elementary classes to participate in RiverXchange.
RiverXchange is an innovative, year-long project developed in New Mexico which educates fifth grade students on river water issues and links them with other fifth grade students from around the world through private interactive class wikis (social networks).
Duncan Sill stressed, “The program is critical to further collaborative regional efforts to support better implementation of water resource management. In turn, by laying the foundation via outreach and hands on education, youth participation and development can become more a vital part of our local sustainable community and economic endeavors.”
RiverXchange has partnered Santa Fe County classes with classes in Massachusetts, Idaho, Washington, Georgia and Kentucky. The project uses the local river or tributary as a tool to teach about major water resource issues. New this year is a hands-on, math-based activity called “Don’t Trash Our Rio” which helps students grasp the trash problem on a local level.
Teachers are trained how to implement the curriculum and how to manage information on their private class wiki. All classes follow the curriculum at approximately the same time during the school year, while students communicate with their pen pals in other classes across the country or across the globe.
With a total of 45 New Mexico classes and 45 partner classes involved this year, RiverXchange is reaching more than 2,000 fifth grade students, with all components of the project provided free of charge to New Mexico teachers. Partner teachers are provided with ongoing support, wiki training and some classroom materials. Other sponsors include the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Mid Rio Grande Stormwater Quality Team and the Southern Sandoval County Arroyo and Flood Control Authority. Over a dozen organizations provide in-kind contributions as classroom guest speakers and field trip docents. In addition to funding 10 fifth grade classes, Santa Fe County also provided hands-on classroom presentations in all 10 area classes on the topics of drinking water and wastewater. Participating Santa Fe County schools include:
- Pojoaque Valley Intermediate School
- Turquoise Trail Charter School
- Rio Grande School
- Acequia Madre Elementary
RiverXchange also organizes/funds field trips to the local river, tributary or major watershed feature. RiverXchange is a project of Experiential EE, LLC, www.experientialee.com. For more information about RiverXchange, visit www.riverxchange.com. To become a guest speaker or involve a school, contact Amy White, Project Manager at 505-235-8342 or amelia87102@yahoo.com.