Canoemobile returns to East Grand Forks for area River Watch students
Sep. 28—More than 80 fifth-graders and 50 to 60 high school students from across the Red River Basin converged on the Red Lake River in East Grand Forks on Tuesday, Sept. 24, to try their hand at paddling canoes as part of Wilderness Inquiry's
"Canoemobile" floating classroom
program.
This is the third year the Canoemobile has been in East Grand Forks under a partnership with the
International Water Institute.
Based in St. Paul, Wilderness Inquiry's mission "is to connect people of all ages, backgrounds, identities and abilities through shared outdoor adventures so that people can equitably experience the benefits of time spent in nature," its website states.
Students from J. Nelson Kelly Elementary in Grand Forks, along with high school students from Lakota, Sacred Heart, Larimore, Stephen-Argyle, Cavalier and Valley-Edinburg schools participated in Canoemobile activities at various times Tuesday, according to Taylor Lemieux, monitoring and education specialist for the International Water Institute.
In addition to East Grand Forks, the Canoemobile was in Moorhead on Monday, Sept. 23; and was scheduled to be in Thief River Falls on Wednesday, Sept. 25; Crookston on Thursday, Sept. 26; and Thief River Falls again on Friday, Sept. 27.
All told, 437 fourth- and fifth-grade students and 200 high school students from 15 to 20 of the 27 schools participating in the International Water Institute's River Watch program were scheduled to take part in Canoemobile activities during the week, Lemieux said.
"It's chaos for sure," she said. "But it's good chaos."
The Canoemobile program serves as a kickoff for the River Watch program's 2024-25 season. In addition to honing their paddling skills, participating students from schools across the Red River Basin get their assignments for this year's River Watch program, Lemieux said.
This year, River Watch teams are being tasked with identifying recreational opportunities in the subwatersheds where they live and developing stewardship plans for each of those subwatersheds, Lemieux said. Winning schools will be announced during the 2025 River Watch Forum, set for Feb. 26, 2025, at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks.
The 2024-25 school year marks the 30th anniversary of River Watch, which has grown from the initial forum event in 1995 into a substantial gathering attended by more than 300 people.
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