Learning About Our Water

When people become far removed from the natural world, it becomes easy to believe that what alters the environment has nothing to do with them. Providing education about the natural world, how we rely on and impact it, breaks away that illusion. What’s more, it can foster a life-long love of nature. Where would today’s biologists, conservation lawyers and naturalists of all kinds be without childhood experiences in nature?

Visiting groups learn about how our green roof, rain garden and native plants help protect water #4ourRiver

Getting kids out in nature is the first step. Children are spending very little time outdoors on average, despite the mental and health benefits of doing so. This comes from a variety of reasons, from concern over insect borne diseases to lack of access to outdoor programming. Providing instruction along with safe, guided and free programming opens the outdoors to more kids–and this is what we are doing here at Ipswich River Watershed Association this summer.

Once outside, there are many ways to explore and each group is unique. Some learn about watershed issues through games like Sponge Bucket Relay and Watershed Tag. On nature walks, activities like “deer ears” ask kids to pay attention and become curious about the natural world around them. Of course, everyone’s favorite activity is getting out on the Ipswich River with our fleet of kayaks and canoes.

Moving forward, we aim to continue improving our education program through things like more education materials, an increased range of activities and more fantastic interns like Grace (left) and Tessa.

We are so grateful that we are able to provide these programs free of change, thanks to the McCarthy Family Foundation, EbscoHost Publishing, Cell Signalling Technology and the EnTrust fund. By offering our programs for free, we are eliminating some of the cost that often prevents many groups from taking part in outdoor education trips. All kids (and adults!) need to have experiences in nature, which we are glad to provide. We especially love to introduce those who live in our watershed (or who drink water from the Ipswich River, including Lynn, Salem and Beverly) to the river their drinking water comes from.