I've been contacted by some folks at the Science Museum regarding the new movie they are opening this Friday, Grand Canyon Adventure: River At Risk. This is a new OmniMax film that takes the viewer on a whitewater adventure through the Canyon while teaching about issues the river is
experiencing and how people are taking action to solve the issues. You can check out the film details at: www.grandcanyonadventurefilm.com We've been asked to have 2-3 kids come attend the opening Friday and have a table out to explain who River Kids is and how they are making a difference locally. The table would include a few handouts and a laptop with a slideshow...easy. The talking will be the real challenge and the reward.
There are two showings that evening. The schedule would look like this:
- Arrive at Science Center between 5-5:30 to set up the RK stuff on the table.
- 5:30-6pm - seating begins and people will filter in and visit the table
- 6pm showing
- 7:30-8pm - Second group of people filters in and visits tables
- 8pm - second showing (We wouldn't need to stay for this)
This is a private event with more than 600 people attending over the course of the evening. Obviously this is a great opportunity for some of our kids to be there and share their mission with those in attendance. Part of being a River Kid is helping teach others to be stewards for the rivers...coincidentally the same goal as the film. Plus, we get a chance to see a very cool film before it opens to the public. I'm sending this info to RK Board Members first. Please let me know of any interest in attending and helping out. I would really like a parent volunteer to handle at least the first showing as well, so parents who are interested should contact me also.
Let me know ASAP.
Thanks!
Ben
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Meeting Friday
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope the break has been a break!
We have the first meeting of the year this Friday, January 9 in the usual library location. We will be hosting Tammy Becker and Mike Coyne-Logan from Living Lands and Waters for a presentation about LL&W and what it takes to make a difference in our world.
Tammy is the Education Program Coordinator for Living Lands and Waters. She is, according to the rest of the LL&W crew, the most positive person on their team, and that's saying a ton. She has been an amazing force for LL&W and a great friend to River Kids from the beginning.
Mike is a former teacher who joined the LL&W crew permanently after spending a couple summers with them as a volunteer. He's now a big part of the magic that LL&W creates everywhere they go.
Parents are welcome to attend this meeting and catch a glimpse of what makes Living Land and Waters tick. We will be teaming up with LL&W for our benefit dinner this year, so we'll get to know them even more later on.
Have a great week...See you all soon!
Ben
Committee Meetings This Week
There are some additional meetings on the schedule for this week as
follows:
follows:
Tuesday - Merchandising Committee - 4-5pm in Ben's Room
Wednesday - River Sisters - Library Conference Room - 4-5pm
Wednesday - Earth Day Planning Committee - Library - 4-5pm
Nothing Thursday of this week - Publicity Committee will be meeting soon. I have not heard back from many of the families with kids on that committee. If your child is signed up, please let me know if Tuesday or Thursday is better for your family. Monday and Wednesday are NOT POSSIBLE according to responses I've already received. Thanks to those who have responded!
Please check with your RK and arrange for attendance at meetings IF NECESSARY. Also, if your child cannot attend, but could if the meetings were on another day, you are welcome to send that info along to me...Meeting days will be decided at this first meeting, so nothing is set in stone yet.
FYI - Some kids are signed up for multiple committees. They may serve on all, but one is certainly enough! Schedules and responsibilities for committee members will be discussed at the first meeting. They may choose not to serve after hearing what is involved, perhaps because of schedule conflicts or finding out it's not what they thought it was. That's fine.
There are plenty of kids signed up for each committee, so no fear if you have to skip some.
Dealing with Extended Day...if your child normally attends Extended Day past 5pm they should go to Extended Day first for check in and snack. They will not be able to rejoin Extended Day after the meeting if they haven't checked in before.
If your child does not normally attend ED, and you know you will pick them up at the end of the meeting, then they may come directly to my room without checking into Extended Day. In that case, it may be nice to send an extra snack for your child. I'll try to have something, but it won't
necessarily be something every child will like.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Let the games begin,
Ben
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Meeting
The RK Board will be meeting after school in the library conference room
from 4-5pm. We will be evaluating the year so far and looking forward to
the major events under development. We will focus a good chunk of our time
on the benefit.
We understand that this meeting has been added to the schedule, so there
will be some who cannot attend. Unfortunately, the next Board meeting is
not until Jan 30, and we need to discuss a few things now.
Ben
from 4-5pm. We will be evaluating the year so far and looking forward to
the major events under development. We will focus a good chunk of our time
on the benefit.
We understand that this meeting has been added to the schedule, so there
will be some who cannot attend. Unfortunately, the next Board meeting is
not until Jan 30, and we need to discuss a few things now.
Ben
Monday, December 1, 2008
RK Update
Hello all,
It's been a while since I've written a standard RK missive, so I know you're
hoping I'll go on and on with this one. Ah, but first the
always-appreciated abridged version:
Upcoming River Kids meetings - Dec 5 and Dec 12, no meeting Dec 19
ADDITIONAL Board Meeting - there will be an new Board meeting added to the
schedule on Dec 10, 4-5pm in the library conference room. I know some will
not be able to make it because of the odd timing, but the Board has much to
discuss and cannot wait until the end of January to meet.
Upcoming RK Events - No cleanups scheduled yet during the winter...bunch of
weenies out there can't hack the cold. Polar Bear Pickup Club anyone?
Looking Ahead - January -
Jan 9 - Special Guests - Tammy and Mike from the Living Lands and Waters
Crew to discuss Green Strategy and Technology
Jan 23 - 6:30pm - RK will host showing of A Sewer Runs Through It - Boyd
Pickup will be on hand to answer questions and discuss the film. (NOTE -
there was a regular meeting scheduled for 4-5pm but it is being cancelled to
allow for this event. Pizza beforehand at New City anyone?)
Looking WAY Ahead - May 2-3 - Reserve these dates for kids - This is the
weekend River Kids will take its annual canoeing/camping trip along the
Meremac River.
Now for the full version...by the way, many River Kids have selected to be
on this mailing list directly. If your River Kid has an email address to
add, send it to me. If your River Kid does not receive these emails
directly, please fill him or her in. I do not have time to go over all the
details at meeting because we're busy learning stuff...go figure.
On with the show...We've now had three major meetings using the new format
of snacking in Extended Day and meeting in the library. Other than a few
minor hiccups, it's gone well. We've certainly accomplished plenty.
At the first meeting, the elder River Kids introduced new members to the
concept of River Kids and began to lay the foundation for this year's work,
establishing a return to focusing on learning about rivers and taking
action.
Our second meeting was dedicated to learning about water conservation and
seeing water as the "new oil." We live in a water-rich environment in this
part of the world, so it's easy to miss the fact that there are many rivers
in the world that are literally drying up due largely to diversion tactics
for agriculture or feeding the thirst of an ever-expanding population. The
kids calculated how much water they might be using as well as how much they
could easily save with some simple changes to behavior. The goal was for
everyone to walk away thinking about water conservation a little bit more.
Our third meeting, we spent some time viewing a video about green roof
technology and discussing an opportunity to participate in a new green roof
project being developed at New City. We also watched the section of the
River des Peres documentary about New City River Kids. We counted how many
times we were on camera and compared...just kidding. Then the last half of
the meeting we took part in a stream table simulation where each member took
on a role related to the model river, such as fisherman/hunter, commercial
developer, residential developer, industry, recreationists, and
conservationists. Each group of role-players received a plot of land to
develop along the model of the stream as they saw fit (according to their
role). Then, they had to discuss, in town hall fashion, how to address the
issues that came up. Again, the goal was to leave everyone thinking about
the issues, the solutions, and the complexity of resolving inevitable
conflict surrounding valuable resources.
We will continue to explore different ways of thinking about rivers and
experiencing them this year. We are planning cleanups, field trips, guest
speakers, and hands-on activities for many meetings. Please email me with
ideas for new activities when they come up.
Since we are spending the majority of our large group meeting time on
learning, we will be starting small committees to handle some of the
projects and aspects of actually running an organization. We will be
sign-up sheets for several groups with the expectation that River Kids will
sign up to help where they are able. Sheets will be out at the next two
meetings. The following groups are currently forming:
1) River Sisters - highly motivated girls may sign for this urban exchange
program - This group is coordinated by Charlotte and begins in January.
2) Publicity - This group of linguists will be seeking ways to publish the
story of River Kids in educational journals, magazines and other media.
3) Earth Day Planning Committee - This group will decide what our booth will
look like at Earth Day this year.
4) Merchandising - This group will take charge of selling RK merchandise to
raise additional funds for projects. Kids in this group will need to spend
some time before or after school selling merchandise.
Meeting days will be decided based on what is best for those who signed up.
Unfortunately, this means some kids may not be able to help on certain
committees. Other groups will likely be formed as necessary.
So, is that long enough? I didn't even rave on about the positive energy in
the group or how cool it is to hear a kid say "riparian corridor" in passing
conversation because they just know this stuff...or how amazed many kids
were at how much water we all use.
This is no doubt a lucky "profession," being the leader of such an
enthusiastic and well-intended group. If they stay the course they have
chosen, there's no doubt in my mind that they will change the world around
them for the better.
Looking forward to some change,
Ben
It's been a while since I've written a standard RK missive, so I know you're
hoping I'll go on and on with this one. Ah, but first the
always-appreciated abridged version:
Upcoming River Kids meetings - Dec 5 and Dec 12, no meeting Dec 19
ADDITIONAL Board Meeting - there will be an new Board meeting added to the
schedule on Dec 10, 4-5pm in the library conference room. I know some will
not be able to make it because of the odd timing, but the Board has much to
discuss and cannot wait until the end of January to meet.
Upcoming RK Events - No cleanups scheduled yet during the winter...bunch of
weenies out there can't hack the cold. Polar Bear Pickup Club anyone?
Looking Ahead - January -
Jan 9 - Special Guests - Tammy and Mike from the Living Lands and Waters
Crew to discuss Green Strategy and Technology
Jan 23 - 6:30pm - RK will host showing of A Sewer Runs Through It - Boyd
Pickup will be on hand to answer questions and discuss the film. (NOTE -
there was a regular meeting scheduled for 4-5pm but it is being cancelled to
allow for this event. Pizza beforehand at New City anyone?)
Looking WAY Ahead - May 2-3 - Reserve these dates for kids - This is the
weekend River Kids will take its annual canoeing/camping trip along the
Meremac River.
Now for the full version...by the way, many River Kids have selected to be
on this mailing list directly. If your River Kid has an email address to
add, send it to me. If your River Kid does not receive these emails
directly, please fill him or her in. I do not have time to go over all the
details at meeting because we're busy learning stuff...go figure.
On with the show...We've now had three major meetings using the new format
of snacking in Extended Day and meeting in the library. Other than a few
minor hiccups, it's gone well. We've certainly accomplished plenty.
At the first meeting, the elder River Kids introduced new members to the
concept of River Kids and began to lay the foundation for this year's work,
establishing a return to focusing on learning about rivers and taking
action.
Our second meeting was dedicated to learning about water conservation and
seeing water as the "new oil." We live in a water-rich environment in this
part of the world, so it's easy to miss the fact that there are many rivers
in the world that are literally drying up due largely to diversion tactics
for agriculture or feeding the thirst of an ever-expanding population. The
kids calculated how much water they might be using as well as how much they
could easily save with some simple changes to behavior. The goal was for
everyone to walk away thinking about water conservation a little bit more.
Our third meeting, we spent some time viewing a video about green roof
technology and discussing an opportunity to participate in a new green roof
project being developed at New City. We also watched the section of the
River des Peres documentary about New City River Kids. We counted how many
times we were on camera and compared...just kidding. Then the last half of
the meeting we took part in a stream table simulation where each member took
on a role related to the model river, such as fisherman/hunter, commercial
developer, residential developer, industry, recreationists, and
conservationists. Each group of role-players received a plot of land to
develop along the model of the stream as they saw fit (according to their
role). Then, they had to discuss, in town hall fashion, how to address the
issues that came up. Again, the goal was to leave everyone thinking about
the issues, the solutions, and the complexity of resolving inevitable
conflict surrounding valuable resources.
We will continue to explore different ways of thinking about rivers and
experiencing them this year. We are planning cleanups, field trips, guest
speakers, and hands-on activities for many meetings. Please email me with
ideas for new activities when they come up.
Since we are spending the majority of our large group meeting time on
learning, we will be starting small committees to handle some of the
projects and aspects of actually running an organization. We will be
sign-up sheets for several groups with the expectation that River Kids will
sign up to help where they are able. Sheets will be out at the next two
meetings. The following groups are currently forming:
1) River Sisters - highly motivated girls may sign for this urban exchange
program - This group is coordinated by Charlotte and begins in January.
2) Publicity - This group of linguists will be seeking ways to publish the
story of River Kids in educational journals, magazines and other media.
3) Earth Day Planning Committee - This group will decide what our booth will
look like at Earth Day this year.
4) Merchandising - This group will take charge of selling RK merchandise to
raise additional funds for projects. Kids in this group will need to spend
some time before or after school selling merchandise.
Meeting days will be decided based on what is best for those who signed up.
Unfortunately, this means some kids may not be able to help on certain
committees. Other groups will likely be formed as necessary.
So, is that long enough? I didn't even rave on about the positive energy in
the group or how cool it is to hear a kid say "riparian corridor" in passing
conversation because they just know this stuff...or how amazed many kids
were at how much water we all use.
This is no doubt a lucky "profession," being the leader of such an
enthusiastic and well-intended group. If they stay the course they have
chosen, there's no doubt in my mind that they will change the world around
them for the better.
Looking forward to some change,
Ben
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