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ALWAYS A RIVER - SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM ON THE OHIO RIVER AND WATER GRADES K - 12
Citation:
ALWAYS A RIVER - SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM ON THE OHIO RIVER AND WATER GRADES K - 12. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, AWBERC-91-09, 1991.
Impact/Purpose:
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Description:
This curriculum was developed as a significant component of the project, Always a River: The Ohio River and the American Experience, a six-state collaboration devoted to exploring the historical and cultural development of the Ohio River. The Always a River project is being jointly sponsored by the Humanities Councils of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Its primary purpose is to provide people living in the states through which the Ohio River flows with an opportunity to explore their local cultural and natural history. One feature of the Always a River project is a specially outfitted barge carrying an interactive exhibit that, during the summer of 1991, stopped at various locations along the entire length of the Ohio River, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cairo, Illinois. The exhibits from this "floating museum" became a permanent part of the Clarksville, Indiana, Interpretive Center upon completion of the barge's journey. Other features of the project in-clude book readings and discussion programs in local libraries, a public history conference, a series of educational programs, and the preparation of this curriculum for students in grades kindergarten through twelve.
As its contribution to the Always a River project, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of the Senior Official for Research and Development, Center for Environmental Learning, developed this curriculum through a collaborative effort, with the assistance of many individuals and organizations. The result, Always a River: Sup-plemental Environmental Education Curriculum, Grades K-12, focuses on the environmental aspects of water and the Ohio River. The curriculum was developed as an interdisciplinary document, offering a wide variety of activities that can be integrated into existing curricula in science, social studies, mathematics, English, art, music, and other subject areas. A series of workshops have been conducted to introduce instructors to the cur-riculum and to provide guidance on its use.
We at EPA believe that environmental education is critical to young people's under-standing of the complex issues facing us in the world today. It is our hope that curricula such as this will provide a valuable supplement to existing educational programs.