River Relief

January 10, 2016

River Relief awarded EPA Environmental Education Grant

Two-year grant will boost organization capacity to teach and connect people to the Missouri River

On Nov. 10, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that 35 organizations nationwide had been awarded more than 3.3 million dollars to support environmental education and action across the country. Out of 400 applicants nationwide, Missouri River Relief was selected as one of five supported projects in our four-state Region 7 (MO, IA, KS, NE). 

The grant, called "Building Capacity for Missouri River Education" supports three main projects -

• Building a network of River Action Teams along the lower Missouri River and supporting Missouri River Action and education projects with a series of grants to organizations along the river;
• Conducting a teacher workshop entitled “Missouri River: A Catalyst for Learning”
• Hosting an on-the-river summer camp for youth called “Missouri River Academy”

Here's some more details on what this grant will enable - 

Missouri River Action Teams (MoRATs)

• This grant will help us formalize and expand our network of Missouri River organizations including non-profits, community groups, schools, families, businesses and individual river lovers. We'll be inviting communities to participate in this network to share ideas, resources and inspiration to DO WORK on the river and educate people about this important resource. 
• We'll be awarding $22,750 in subgrants to organizations in the four-state region for projects working to engage and educate their community for the health of the Missouri River. Click here to learn about grants. 
• We'll be publishing a quarterly newsletter sharing the news of our partner organizations. 
• We'll be hosting a Missouri River Rendezvous in Sept. 2015 inviting organizations to share their successes, ideas and inspiration with other Missouri River groups and individuals. 

Teacher Professional Development - "Missouri River: A Catalyst for Learning"

• We'll be hosting a four-day workshop with teachers from the four-state region to encourage Missouri River literacy and training teacher ambassadors to bring Missouri River curriculum into their classrooms and school districts. 
• Click here to learn more about this workshop. 
• This will dovetail with another project we are working on with Columbia Public Schools to integrate Missouri River knowledge into pre-existing curriculum using Next Generation Science Standards. 

Summer Camp! "Missouri River Academy" 

• Hosting 20 students from the four-state region to spend a week getting deep into the "Big Muddy". 
• Click here to learn more and to enroll. 
• Click here for more info on last year's Summer Camp. 

US Fish & Wildlife biologists share an up close look at the life in the Missouri River at our 2015 "Big River Experience" Summer Camp. photo by Melanie Cheney

Looking forward - 

The grant will last for two years. We're looking for support from local businesses and foundations to match this grant and make these programs sustainable into the future. 

Stay tuned as we announce more details on all of these projects!

Thanks!

to Jan Weaver and the Missouri Environmental Education Association for your partnership in designing and administering this program.