Friends of the Mad River (FMR) has received a 2024 Watershed United Vermont Education and Outreach Grant. This grant will support the efforts of the organization to partner with local schools around watershed and climate curriculum. During last school year, FMR partnered with dozens of classrooms throughout the Harwood Unified Union School District, interacting with hundreds of students from the local community. These students ranged in age from first and second graders at Waitsfield Elementary to graduating seniors at Harwood Union High School. Topics of study included erosion and deposition, geology, riparian buffer restoration, and work with stream tables to learn about the history of human impacts on the Mad River. Several projects resulted in public presentations including the Climate Cafe, which brought together student leaders from the Harwood Youth Lobby with local leaders and climate activists.
“This grant will allow us to continue to build upon the relationships we started last school year. It will also help us connect with more teachers across the district who are interested in taking their learning outside of the traditional classroom,” said Luke Foley, climate and engagement manager for FMR.
In the upcoming school year, FMR will help to foster new partnerships between local and state organizations and local educators. There are plans to work with Vermont Fish and Wildlife staff, as well as helping to support programs such as Trout in the Classroom, which is supported by the MadDog Chapter of Trout Unlimited. “The goal is to help our youngest community members better understand the environment around them, while also developing critical skills that will allow them to grow into the citizens and stewards of the future,” Foley continued.
