Buffalo Niagara River Academy Courses Starting Soon!

This January, college students and environmental enthusiasts will have the opportunity to do some hands-on exploring with the local section of the Niagara River.  Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper is now offering a training program that will help interested individuals attain a comprehensive understanding of how the Niagara River thrives and our human impact upon it.

Courses in the River Academy will include stream science, stream restoration and watershed management classes. Students will learn what plants and animals inhabit our local section of the Great Lakes system.  They will also be educated about environmental issues, both past and present, that affect the Niagara River watershed and its inhabitants.

The courses will be taught in a hands-on fashion.  The students will do field-oriented sessions and hands-on restoration workshops on three degraded Niagara River tributaries.  They will also be working side-by-side with local experts.

The River Academy is being held collaboratively with Erie County Community College.  Students will be able to receive ECC course credits, which are transferable to most SUNY schools.  Students can register for the River Academy at www.ecc.edu.  All students who complete the course will receive a certificate of completion.

The River Academy is also available to those who are not seeking course credit.  Those individuals can register by mail, in person, or online.  Registration forms are available to print out on the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper website. 

Tuition for the full one-semester program is $150.  There is also the option of paying for an individual course, which is a rate of $50 per course.  A limited number of need-based scholarships will be offered.  Those interested in a scholarship can download an application on the River Academy website.

Classes will be held on Thursday mornings at the ECC North campus and Saturday mornings at the Riverkeeper office and field trip locations.  The River Academy will run from January 20-May 14, 2011. The following courses will be available in the Spring 2011 semester:

1. Municipal Sewage Management
2. Green Infrastructure and Stormwater  Modeling
3. Niagara River Watershed Hydrology
4. Historic Contamination of Niagara River Waterways
5. Innovative Habitat Monitoring with GIS
6. Stream Assessment
7. Marcroinvertebrates of the Niagara River Watershed
8. Native and Invasive Plant Species In Riparian Environments
9. Restoration Workshop Buffalo River
10. Shoreline Sweep Project Leadership
11. Buffalo River Tree Planting (with South Park High School)
12. Fishes of the Niagara River Watershed
13. Seneca Bluffs Restoration Planting

For more information, check out the website or contact Robbyn Drake by phone at (716) 852-7483 ext. 12, or by email at rdrake@bnriverkeeper.org.