Grygla students launch canoes down a river of dreams
Tue, 05/15/2018 - 4:21pm
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Written by Grygla Eagle Newspaper
Last Friday, May 11th, was an exciting day down at the Mud River in Grygla. The 4th and 5th grade classes have been taking part in the “River of Dreams” canoe launch program. Representatives from the International Water Institute, Conservations Corps and Red Lake Watershed District have been visiting the Grygla classrooms to teach the kids about our local watershed.
Ashley Hitt, Natural Resource Specialist at the Red Lake Watershed District, and Kyle Glowa, GIS Mapping and Outreach Corps Member, have been teaching the young students watershed functions and terminology, and the geography of local watersheds and how they fit into a larger drainage area.
The River of Dreams program explores the connectivity of our planet’s water supply and includes connections to reading, writing, social studies, science, math and art.
Interactive classroom activities involved the Grygla 4th and 5th graders designing and decorating a 14” cedar canoe that was assigned a tracking number so each canoe can be tracked and viewed online (at riverofdreams.org). Students were asked to imagine their canoe’s journey down the local rivers and then write a story to describe the adventure. Photos of each canoe, the individual stories and tracking status can all be found on the website for students to view.
After learning about the local river systems, students had high hopes as they set out to send their canoes down the Mud River last Friday morning; some even thought theirs would reach Canada by the weekend! For your information and enjoyment, let’s give you the same path the kids were given: the Mud River begins at the Moose River Impoundment. It is a 21-mile long stream that flows westwards to the Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge. It is part of the Thief River watershed, which drains via the Red Lake River, the Red River of the North, Lake Winnipeg, and the Nelson River to Hudson Bay!
Students imagined their canoes making it all the way to the Hudson Bay and floating past Polar Bears and Beluga Whales!
If someone happens to find the canoe, the instructions to log its whereabouts are glued in with the use of epoxy resin. Once they go to the website for that canoe, they can view all of the information, along with special messages from the students. One student asked, “If you find me and I need fixing, please repair me before putting me back in the water.” Another suggested if found close to the winter season to bring it home until spring and then relaunch!
What a great learning activity for these young minds!