Georgia river of words. International environmental poetry and art project for K-12

Take your students' learning further in October!

Georgia's Annual Volunteer Waterway Cleanup

Whqt is Rivers Alive?
Rivers Alive is a volunteer cleanup event that targets
all waterways in the State of Georgia includin g streams, rivers, lakes, beaches and wetlands. The mission of Rivers Alive is to crea te awareness of and in volvement in the preservation of G eorgia's water reso urces. Rivers Al ive is held annually each October and is sponsored by the Geo rgia D epartment of Natural Reso urces' Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Program and the G eo rgia D epartm ent of Community Affai rs' Keep G eorgia Bea utiful Program, in cooperation with th e Columbus "Help the Hooch."



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Teqchers qnd Students:





Visit our website qt






www. riversq Iive.org



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to find qn existing





event to ioi n!









Why should you get involved?
G eo rgia's 70, I 50 mil es of streams and rivers need you r help! Our waterways provide us with fres h drinking water, g reat recreational opportunities like ca noeing and fishing, and they ser ve as a pl easant respite from our busy clay to clay li ves . Everyone contributes to pollution in our strea ms. This is yo ur opportuni ty to help by giving something back to th e environment! Help us clea n our streams, rivers, lakes, beaches and
wetland s by supporting Rivers Alive!

The preparation of thi s brochure was finan ced in pan through a grant from the U.S. Environmenta l Protection Agency under provisions of Section 3 19 (h) of the Federal Clean Water Act of 1987, as amended and The Starbucks Foundation.

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ART: "Turtle in the Sea" Abby Bruning - State Winner Entered Individually - Washington, Georgia

POEM: "The Running Stream" David Reagan - State Winner Lewis Elementary School - Kennesaw

GEORGIA
Adopt-A-Stream

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G eo rgia's Adopt-A-Stream program provides

citizens with the tools and trainin g to evalu ate and

protect their local waterways. To accompli sh these

goals, G eorgia Adopt-A-Strea m enco urages

teachers and students to adopt sections of streams,

wetlands, lakes or coastal waters and conduct

visual sur veys and watershed assess ments.

Furth ermore, these groups can monitor water

quali ty through chemical and biological testing.

Free resources are availabl e including monitoring

manuals, educator gu ides, videos and brochures.

For more information go to

www.riversalive.org/ aas.htm

or call (404) 675- 1636 or (404) 675- 1639.

Georgia

River of Words
International Environmental Poetry and Art Project for K-12

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Coordinated by
Georgia Center for the Book
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Project WET Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Environmental Protection Division

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des igned to nurture respec t and



understanding of th e natural wo rld.

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Ch ildren learn their "ecologica l ad dres s" '"v,, o" " '",."' by hon ing th eir obse rvation skill s (th e ,om>N "'mJCT

basis of both art and science) and describing throug h poetry and art their "place in space." .

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River of Words is a K-1 2 watershed st ud y spa rked by the forme r U.S. Poet Laureate, Robert Hass. Students enter their poetry and art in the In ternational River of Words competition. RO W anno unces the winn ers in April and all students receive a certificate. ational Grand Prize Winn ers (8 stude nts annually) rece ive a trip to Washin g ton DC where they are recognized at the Library of Congress. ational winners and finali sts have been selected from Georgia every year sin ce 1997 !

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Jesse MorreU - Starbucks Power of Literacy Prize Winner Oatland Island Education Center - Savannah
IN GEORGIA Th e River of Words Proj ect is coo rdinated by the Geo rg ia Center fo r th e Book and the G eo rg ia Proj ect WET ('Nater Educatio n for T eachers) Program. After the international compet it io n, students' ori g in al poetry and art are entered in the State competition . In terna tional and State winn ers are recognized at the Geo rg ia Awa rds Ceremony in May. In G eo rgia, River of Words is spo nso red by the Starbucks Foundation.

"Submerged and Speechless" Kristen Van Li ew
National Grand Prize Winner Druid Hills High School - Atlanta
ANNUAL DEADLINE - FEBRUARY 15
Fo r more information co ntact:
Nat io nal Ri ver of \ Vo rd s P.O. Box 4000 J
Berkeley, California 94,704 Ph one: (5 10) 54-8-POEM FAX: (5 10 ) 54-8- 2095
www. ri verofwords.org Email: info@ ri verofwords.org

FREE ROW TEACHER'S GUIDE Th e G eorg ia ROW Proj ect offers a FREE TEACHER'S GU IDE whi ch co ntain s informat ion o n Georgia's watersheds and ways to inco rpo rate science, poetry, art and se rvice-learnin g in th e classroom. The g uid e features in spirational stori es by participati ng Geo rg ia teachers and other act ivities to support th e program . Plu s, yo u will receive the ROvV/ Ri vers Alive Poster and ROvV bookmarks.
GEORGIA RIVER OF WORDS POETRY AND ART JOURNAL Th ese beautiful books hi g hlig ht t he crea ti vity of Georgia st udents and are an il able upon request 111 Janu ary each yea r.
Cover Art: "Glistening Falls" Gina Berchin - State Winner J .C. Booth Middle School - Peachtree City

FIELD TRIPS TO NATURE CENTERS Across the State, nature centers offer programs that support River of Words. On a field tr ip, you r students mig ht discover their loca l watershed and create poems or art they ca n submit to the co ntes t. The content and cost of th ese programs va ry by center, but the T eacher's Gu ide inclu des a deta iled list of nature centers and t he programs they provide.
RIVER OF WORDS EXHIBIT VISITS GEORGIA SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES In spire yo ur fac ulty and stud ents to participate by displaying the Ex hibit at yo ur school. Students' poetry and art wi ll be on display in the Georgia River of Words Exl1ibit fo r one year. One Exhibit travels to schools, conferences, water fes ti va ls, parks, sta te buildin gs, etc. Another Ex hibit travels to li bra ries statew ide, from Athens to vVaycross . For inform ation regarding the library exhibit schedule contact Bill Starr at th e Georgia Center fo r the Book at (404) 370-8450, Ext. 2225 or ema il at StarrW@dekalblibrary .org .
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GEORGIA RIVER OF WORDS CONTACT GEORGIA PROJECT WET
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DIVISION 4220 INTER.i"l"AT IONAL PKWY, SUITE 10 1
ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30354 PETEY G IRO UX: (40'1) 675 - 1638
Petey_ G iroux@dnr. state.ga.us
Alexander J. Sewall - State W inner Casa Montessori School - Marietta

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