Students Take To The Water For River Quest

24th Annual Duluth River Quest

May 11, 2016

River Quest is an event designed to inspire kids to be better stewards of the river.

FOX 21’s Dilan Michaels takes us along for this special journey.

The St. Louis River front is a fascinating place, and for the past 24 years, it’s been the goal of Duluth river quest to share that fascination with local 6th graders.

Adele Yorde said, “This is a really impressionable age, middle school, so they get the science behind all of these concepts, and that ties into classroom studies, but they also get the interrelated value about living here, that we all have a responsibility to keep the economy going, to make sure we are environmental stewards of this great lake.”

The main intention of river quest is to continue the rivers sustainable ways through education.

Adele Yorde said, “So all in all in the 2 hours and 10 minutes they spend with us they move through 12 learning stations, 6 aboard the vista fleet and 6 in pioneer hall in the DECC.”

Each station focused on a specific element in the St. Louis river.

Adele Yorde said, “They’ll learn everything about safety being on the water when the recreate, to things that are in the water that they need to be aware of for water quality.”

But it wasn’t all work, the stations were as interesting as they were interactive.

Layla Anderson said “I really liked the station about invasive species, I kind of want to work with them when i’m older.”

Inspiring this sort of life long goal, is exactly the purpose of River Quest.

Adele Yorde explains, “If we had the research to go back 24 years and see how many people went off to college and into biology or went into the coast guard, or joined the Minnesota seas grant, or work in ports and ships all over the great lakes, that would be the real long term goal of the program.

So whether they’re learning about shipping, or just how to be better beach goers, the one sure thing is these 6th graders are leaving with more respect for our great lake. In Canal Park I’m Dilan Michaels, KQDS FOX 21.