"Day on the River Canoe Tour"

• Guided canoe trip along the Anacostia River's "Kingfisher Canoe Trail";
• Detailed slide presentation about the river, its watershed, and its restoration;
• Multi-disciplinary activities related to the river;
• Basic canoe paddling instruction and safety demonstration. (All equipment is provided)

The Anacostia Watershed Society's (AWS) "Day on the River" program is an expedition-based learning experience on the waters of the Anacostia River.   Rather than walk from one indoor classroom to another, your students will canoe to their outdoor classrooms at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens and along the shores of the Anacostia.  They will experience biology, chemistry, mathematics, and history while exploring the river's living ecological systems.

Beginning in the classroom, your students are introduced  to the Anacostia River and its watershed through an informative slide presentation given by AWS staff.  The slideshow describes the sources of pollution affecting the river and highlights the various ongoing restoration efforts. 

The centerpiece of the program is a one day canoeing expedition along the Anacostia River's "Kingfisher Canoe Trail."  On this day, your students will be sharing space with great blue herons, osprey, egrets, beavers, turtles, aquatic plants, many varieties of trees, and perhaps even a bald eagle.  Projects will include water quality monitoring, a marsh exploration, tree and emergent plant identification, discussions on watershed geology, pollution prevention, applied map reading, journal writing and study of past and present land and water uses.

Our program is a multi-disciplinary one.  Our agenda is flexible to accomodate your classroom subjects and curriculum, and the program can be scheduled according to your calendar.  The "Day on the River" program provides opportunities for your students to see, hear, touch, smell and bring alive the subjects you are teaching them.  They will learn to understand the natural world around them in a more personal way, and will learn an appreciation for the living things which share their world.