Teacher & students selected for month-long James River expedition

Open High School in Richmond was one of four Virginia high schools chosen to participate in James River Association’s James River Expedition, sponsored by Dominion Resources. See the release: A biology teacher from Open High School in Richmond and three of the school’s students have been selected to participate in a four-week exploration down the […]

May 23, 2011; 7:01 AM • by Phil Riggan

Open High School in Richmond was one of four Virginia high schools chosen to participate in James River Association’s James River Expedition, sponsored by Dominion Resources.

See the release:

A biology teacher from Open High School in Richmond and three of the school’s students have been selected to participate in a four-week exploration down the entire James River aboard canoes, batteau, rafts and work boats where they will get a 340-mile lesson in environmental stewardship and help create a vision for the next century of conservation of this treasured river.

Emily Betts, a seven-year teaching veteran and instructor of biology, will join 12th-grader Caleigh Remocaldo, 10th Grader Kelvin Tyler and 10th-grader Cara Chiocca as part of the James River Association’s inaugural James River Expedition, a month-long floating classroom of 18 teachers and students from four high schools throughout the James River watershed.

The Expedition is being sponsored by Dominion Resources, whose $50,000 grant is underwriting the cost of the trip. It is making the grant through The Dominion Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm. 

“The protection and preservation of the environment are ingrained in the work we do every day,” said Pamela F. Faggert, Dominion’s chief environmental officer. “A partnership with the James River Association that involves educating our youth about one of Virginia’s greatest natural resources is an investment in the future. We’re working hard today to care for the environment and we’re counting on our young people to continue and enhance this work in the future. This Expedition will teach, inspire and create life-long ambassadors for the river.”

Betts and the three students were selected from among applicants from high schools across the James River watershed, which represents 25 percent of the land area in Virginia. Other schools represented are Albemarle High School near Charlottesville, E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg and Bethel High School in Hampton.

“The James River Expedition is an enormous logistical enterprise, but one we have always dreamed of undertaking given its capacity to provide such an intimate and far-reaching learning experience for teachers and students alike,” said Bill Street, executive director of the James River Association. “We’re particularly excited for the opportunity to connect young people to the James River so that they can understand what a responsibility all of us have in protecting this incredible natural resource and the opportunities we have to restore the river and benefit from it in the next century. We are indebted to our friends at Dominion for making the Expedition possible.”

The teachers and students will participate in a variety of activities, including water quality monitoring, river resource mapping and watershed restoration efforts , as well as specially arranged tours of a riverside farm whose best-management practices are a model in agricultural conservation, a city working to reduce its contribution to stormwater runoff pollution, a large tract of undeveloped land protected for future generations by a conservation easement, and a power plant investing in cleaner air and water. The Expedition will also journey into the rich historical and cultural traditions along the James River, traveling by historic vessels and meeting with representatives from Virginia Indian tribes and other experts on the river’s history, culture, and ecology.

The James River Expedition will launch from Iron Gate near Covington, Virginia on June 25 and conclude in Hampton on July 22.  More information on the Expedition’s daily schedule will follow.

May 23, 2011 7:01 AM 0