River Day in Sidney

The River Stewards traveled to Sidney for a River Day with students from Kindergarten to 3rd grader to talk about water safety and recreation on the rivers or other bodies of water. The field day event took place at Tawawa park and River Stewards took students out in canoes to put safety skills into action, while enjoying being outside. For many of the students it was their first time in a boat. The Rivers Institute was highlighted in an article in the Sidney Daily News.


The experience with the students, especially at their young age was a great addition to our educational outreach efforts! Seeing students, especially at their age, making connections to the water surrounding them was amazing. It is also so beneficial to continue to gain a regional perspective of our efforts surrounding the rivers.



Sorry, we are unable to access the article on-line, so it is pictured below.

Paddle in the Park

Paddle in the Park was on June 4th this year held by Five Rivers MetroParks at Eastwood MetroPark. The Summer River Steward Interns volunteered their help and expertise with the event. Alex G. and Bethany R. were safety boaters out on the lake keeping people within the designated safety area while Jenny B., Nicole G., Lindsay R., Taylor P., and I helped fit people into boats and get them into the water. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. There were over 1,000 people who filled out release forms to get in the water and many others who visited the 15+ exhibitor's tents. Overall, it was an amazing day. I got to help so many adults, children, and families into kayaks and canoes. I also got to pet more than 10 dogs and two MetroParks horses. It was an amazing day. The River Stewards are also known for getting their friends to come out and participate in MetroPark events like GearFest. We got several of our friends to come to the park and try out the boats. They all thoroughly enjoyed themselves and said so several times. It was just so nice to see all the people out padding around in boats and trying out paddle boards. All the events put on by MetroParks are great. But by being a River Steward and getting involved, it really makes me love the city of Dayton so much more. Maybe I'll stay here after college.

Rivermobile Planning, June 2nd

Last Thursday, June 2nd was the kick-off meeting for the design phase of the Rivermobile. River Steward summer interns along with faculty met to brainstorm potential ideas of goals and student learning outcomes gained through the Rivermobile. Steve Wilhoit, Director of Writing, Research, and New Media, helped the group with a process for brainstorming ideas. Small groups organized thoughts into charts based on skills, knowledge, and attitudes that are beneficial to students participating in the Rivermobile, as well as undergraduate students who will plan and execute it.

These ideas will be formed into student learning outcomes that will be distributed and discussed at the Rivermobile Planning Workshop on June 16th. Below are a couple pictures from the day.