The mission
of the Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River’s Education
Committee is to provide educational experiences, information, and
assistance to our watershed community directed toward learning to
appreciate and care for the North Fork of the Shenandoah.
Our education coordinator
works with the K-12 education community, local organizations, and area
small businesses to promote environmental learning experiences to a wide
spectrum of age level groups and through a variety of educational
opportunities.
Any organization within the
North Fork watershed is welcome to request that a program on the history
and current health of the North Fork be presented to your members.
If you are interested in being a part of FNFSR educational efforts please contact FNFSR or our education coordinator.
|
•Teacher Professional Development
Friends' 2nd North Fork Exploration
Professional Development Opportunity
for Teachers in Shenandoah
and Rockingham Counties
If you are a teacher and need resources for your classroom click on the Teacher River Resources link.
Lesson plans from NF Exploration
|
North Fork Shenandoah
River EXPLORATION
Friends' 2nd teacher professional development workshop was a grand success!
Almost 30 teachers and volunteers participated in a two three
day workshops that
included: a canoe trip guided by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a
day
of field trips with a fish shocking demonstration by the Dept. of Game
and Inland Fisheries, a stop at a farm using best management
practices
to protect water quality, a trip to the Shenandoah County Landfill, and a
visit to the Woodstock Sewage Treatment Plant, and finally a
classroom
day where we explored the different water related teaching resources
that are available. Teachers then had a chance to brainstorm about
lesson plans and projects for the coming year! These 2010 and 2011 experiences left most participants with a much better understanding of the river in their backyards.
In 2012 we will focus our efforts on middle school students and plan to host at least two 4 day summer watershed "camps" in June.
|
Over the years, Friends
has gathered a wealth of information to help you become informed and to
make good decisions about water, water usage and the river and our
watershed.
Check out our Learn About page
to get informed on all things water related. The articles that are here
were written as features for the Shenandoah Valley Herald in 2010 and
they really contain a good amount of useful information.
|
Cindy Frenzel 
Cindy
is the FNFSR Education Coordinator. With the help of our volunteers and
a communications class at James Madison University, we have developed a
presentation,“The North Fork: My River, My Community, My Choice” that
we would like to present to your group. Cindy has made up a schedule for
2011 and would love to be a part of your next meeting!
In
addition to Cindy’s presentation, our education committee has assembled
a series of workshops in partnership with the Shenandoah County Parks
and Recreation Department.
Come
and take part in these wonderful workshops to learn about things that
you can do in your own yard to help the river and the environment!
|
|
2012 Workshops - Fun for All!
|
Friends offers a series of water related workshops in the Spring. Please join us for one or all of the following 2012 opportunities to help protect water health!
- March 29 - Make and Take Rain Barrel Workshop - 6:30pm at the Toms Brook Natural Art Garden Center
- April 22 - River Bloom! Earth Day Wildflower Walk at the White House Farm Foundation near Luray, VA
- May 9 - Make and Take Rotating Compost Bin Workshop - 6:30pm at Peter Muhlenberg Middle School in Woodstock
Registration for these workshops will be through the Shenandoah County Parks and Recreation Department and will begin March 1.
See video below for some of the fun we have learning together.
|
North Fork Exploration for Students - 2011
Friends hosted our first North Fork Exploration for students in 2011. The summer camp is offered as a summer enrichment
activity for local students to help create hands on experiences between students and the river. Students learn to become good
stewards of the river and the environment all while having the time of
their lives. We appreciate the nearby agencies and citizens that join
the Education Committee of Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah
River to make this experience informative and beneficial. This highly
anticipated yearly program is an example of the community working
together at its finest. We hope to host at least two camps in the summer of 2012.
The slide show below shows all the wonderful faces of the students that participated in our 2011 program.
Take a look!
|
|
