The river sways like the wind.
The river will find its natural glory.
The Rio is the place of beauty.
The sounds of waterfowl circling the sandbars.
The water moves slowly and swiftly,
moving downstream,
Different shades of water.
I love the Rio!"
Will

"Later on I realized what my
message to the river was.
It was that we needed
each other."
Matilde

Thousands of years ago, in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado the Pyramid Peaks birthed a great river, the Rio Grande, El Rio Bravo del Norte.

We have a great Rio Grande Watershed Curriculum which brings to life our great river and our children's voices in a grand tribute reflecting how important the river is.

This project has met with tremendous success during the two years Alexis Rykken, Education Director, Friends of the Bosque del Apache NWR, has traveled the schools and the countryside. The kids just love the project! It is resulting in increased appreciation for the river, and increased hands-on knowledge of how essential it is to all our lives!

Mapping the Rio

The Mapping the Rio Watershed Education Project was initiated in 2005 as a cooperative effort between the Friends of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge to serve kindergarten through fifth grade students in Socorro County.

Mission: To enrich academic experience with an intensive nine week field investigative curriculm focused on the Rio Grande Watershed. To generate a principled understanding of the Rio Grande ecologically, geographically, culturally. To learn how our local wildlife refuges, as well as international wildlife refuges, promote conservation ethics. In every way this project is about touching hearts; working together as a community. Restoration.

Watershed Education: The Watershed project spans the Rio Grande from its' headwaters high in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico; linking communities, wildlife habitat, and the NWR system.

Curriculum: Designed and implemented for schools in the Middle Rio Grande Valley the Watershed Project integrates field work with in-class activities. Each class is involved in an intensive 9 week study incorporating science, geography, natural and cultural history, language arts, social studies, and the expressive arts. We are interactive, vital, community based. Geologists, Naturalists, Biologists, Artists, Ecologists, Farmers offer their expertise to become partners and role models for our students. We work together to develop an understanding of human impact, water issues, the refuge system, reclaimation, interrelatedness, and the ecology of this great river.
Through this project kids discover a larger world. They discover their voices matter..We are in this together.

Alex: "Because of the multilayered foundation of the Watershed Curriculum this project generates its own energy, and is continually in process. I follow that energy."

Projects include: (Please click News for a list of Projects and News) River Maps and Murals. Watershed Models. Poetry. A Rio Grande Photo Exhibit. Rio Grande Children's books. A Rio Grande Power Point. Our latest project a Rio Grande Film Documentary from headwaters to the Bosque del Apache NWR was completed in November of 2007 and is available online for only $10 in the Friends of the Bosque secure online store. where you can also donate to the Educational Fund. Thank you.

Note: This curriculm incorporates New Mexico content standards, benchmarks, and performance in Life Science and Earth Science relevant to the integrity of the Watershed Project.

We Appreciate Your Support: Mapping the Rio has been able to grow and develop thanks to the financial support of private foundations and individuals who, like you, believe a child's intellectual, cultural, and emotional development is inherently tied to the natural world. Please send your tax-deductible donation today or please click here to donate online:
Secure Online Donations

For More Information: Alexis Rykken
Watershed Education
Friends of the Bosque NWR
PO Box 340 San Antonio, NM 87832
575-838-2110
e-mail mappingtherio@sdc.org

Images, Photographs, text ©2008 Mapping the Rio Watershed Education Project, Alexis Rykken
crane and river logo ©2007 Valerie Graves
All rights reserved
Thank you to our contributors and supporters, including
The Lannan Foundation &
Friends of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge