Project Overview

What is Listening to the River?  Listening to the River is an exciting, multi-disciplinary education project that engages students in the scientific exploration and documentation of their local watershed.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the project has several components:

• Watershed Discovery. Youth (ages 14-17) field teams join adult volunteers and science/technology experts to explore and document various aspects of their local watershed using state-of-the-art mapping and multimedia technology.
• Soundscapes Radio Segments. Working with Interlochen Public Radio (IPR) staff, students document their watershed discovery with advanced sound recording technology and produce independent radio segments for broadcast on IPR.
• Waterscapes: Traveling Children's Museum or Science Center Exhibits. Content collected during the field excursions are used to add content to an immersive exhibits that recreates the experience of exploring a watershed. Youth field teams were involved in designing the exhibits, meant to communicate the concepts of watershed science to an elementary-aged audience.
• Listening to the River Website. The web site (www.listeningtotheriver.org) provides project information, delivers educational resources, serves as a project management site and is used as a vehicle for the collection, aggregation and display of mapped watershed data and multimedia information

Watch the Introductory Video!