About

Friends of the Chicago River has been helping teachers and students explore the wonders of the Chicago River for over a decade. In 2002, Friends created Adopt A River School with the goal of sustaining service learning based Chicago River programs at local schools. Through each school’s service learning program, students develop science, social science and language arts expertise, hone their critical thinking skills, and become active citizens. In addition, the Chicago River gains new advocates, its quality improves and we learn more about the river’s health.

Since its inception, Adopt A River School has grown to 14 schools across the watershed. Each of these schools conducts annual water and habitat monitoring at their site, and works to improve the Chicago River through restoration, outreach and education, and clean-up activities. Students from these schools have presented their findings to the Cook County Board of Commissioners, cleared invasive species, and mentored elementary school students by teaching about the river from their own experience.

Member schools include: Amundsen High School, Chicago City Day School, Curie High School, Darwin Elementary, Deerfield High School, Drummond Elementary, Gage Park High School, Lincoln Park High School, Loyola Academy, Northside College Prep High School, St. Ignatius College Prep High School, Schurz High School, Taft High School and Young Women's Leadership Charter School.

In 2008, Friends of the Chicago River launched the Watershed Community Report as a means of sharing the Adopt A River Schools water quality data.