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About Our Program

Collecting with a netAdopt A River Schools

Friends of the Chicago River has been helping teachers and students explore the wonders of the Chicago-Calumet River system since 1996. In 2002, Friends created the Adopt A River Schools program to enable long-term monitoring and service-learning done by watershed 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, the Adopt A River Schools program has grown to 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 at the Chicago River Student Congress, removed litter and invasive species, planted native species, and mentored other students about their own experiences.

In 2008, Friends of the Chicago River launched this website, the Watershed Community Report, as a way to share the Adopt A River Schools water quality data with the public.
 

AARS member schools and their adopted sites:

Back of the Yards College Prep High School
Saganashkee Slough (Crooked Creek)

Chicago City Day School
Miami Woods (North Branch)

Curie Metro High School
McClaughrey Springs Woods (Mill Creek)

Deerfield High School
Deerfield High School (Middle Fork)

DePaul College Prep High School
Clark Park (North Branch)

Drummond Elementary School
Irene Hernandez Family Picnic Area (North Branch)

Jamieson Elementary School
Legion Park (North Shore Channel)

Lane Tech College Prep High School
Clark Park (North Branch)

Lincoln Park High School
Linne Woods (North Branch)

Loyola Academy High School
Loyola Acad. - Main Campus (Skokie River) & Munz Campus (West Fork)

Maine Township High Schools
Linne Woods (North Branch)

Northside College Prep High School
Northside College Prep (North Shore Channel)

Schurz High School
Lechowicz Woods (North Branch)

Skinner North Classical School
Goose Island - The Wild Mile (North Branch Canal)

Solorio Academy High School
McClaughrey Springs Woods (Mill Creek)

Thornwood High School
Sweet Woods (North Creek)

Von Steuben Metro Science Center
Kiwanis Park (North Branch)

Waters Elementary School
Sunken Gardens Park (North Branch)