JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The St. Johns Riverkeeper and Duval County School Board are partnering to offer educational boating trips on the St. Johns River to students. The river explorations for about 1,500 students will be part of the school district's STEAM Cultural Passport Program.
The trips will be related to science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics. Some of the things they will learn will include interpreting water quality data, examine river plants and animals and observe manatees and dolphins that are in the river.
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CSX is helping the fund the boat rides for Duval County's Title 1 fifth-graders.
"So many of these kids have never had the opportunity to experience the St. Johns from the water," said Jennie Busey, the St. Johns Riverkeeper's education director. "This program offers students a hands-on, comprehensive learning experience that will enhance their knowledge of the river while allowing them to develop a closer relationship to our community's greatest natural resource."
The students will enjoy three to four boats rides during the 2015-2016 school year that each last for two hours. The students will have education activities throughout the field trip, which will follow state standards.
The students will even get the chance to make their own predictions of the river's future.
The STEAM program is paid by federal funding.