National Great Rivers Research and Education Center to Host 23rd Annual Water Festival

EAST ALTON - The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC), in partnership with Lewis and Clark Community College, is proud to announce the 23rd Annual Water Festival.

This year's festival is set for Friday, Sept. 26, with a scheduled rain date of Friday, Oct. 3, on the campus of Lewis and Clark Community College, Godfrey.

More than 900 area fifth-grade students will take part in a full day of hands-on activities designed to inspire curiosity about water, wildlife and the environment, helping students to understand water's vital role in shaping nature, supporting wildlife and sustaining everyday lives.

While Water Festival is focused on providing an immersive learning experience for local schools, each year NGRREC invites new schools to participate*.

The 2025 Water Festival will welcome students from a dozen area schools:

• Academic Development Institute - Lincoln, Ill.
• C.A. Henning Elementary School - Troy, Ill.
• Calhoun Elementary - Hardin, Ill.
• Central Intermediate - Roxana, Ill.
• East Elementary - Alton, Ill.
• Estelle Kampmeyer - O'Fallon, Ill.
• Grantfork Elementary - Grantfork, Ill.
• Highland Elementary - Highland, Ill.
• North Elementary - Alton, Ill.
• St. Norbert- Hardin, Ill.
• St. Elizabeth - Granite City, Ill.
• Trinity Lutheran, Edwardsville, Ill.

Since its launch in 2002, Water Festival has grown into one of the area's largest and longest-running environmental education events. Over its 23-year history, more than 13,500 students and 575 teachers from 48 schools have participated, each at no cost to the schools, thanks to the generosity of donors and community partners. Over this time, the festival has raised over $190,000 in support, engaged more than 1,200 volunteers, and partnered annually with over 40 federal, state, local and nonprofit agencies who help lead interactive learning stations each year.

"The Water Festival is an opportunity to ignite curiosity and a love of science, nature and water in students," NGRREC Director of Environmental Education Jessica Mohlman said. "It gives them a chance to explore and ask questions, to discover the wonders of the natural world around them, and to develop a deeper appreciation for the Mississippi River right in our backyard."

As a precursor to the festival, participating teachers will attend a Teacher Workshop at NGRREC's Confluence Field Station in East Alton on Monday, Sept. 22. The workshop provides free classroom resources, professional development in programs such as Project WET and Critical Zone Science, and training in community science initiatives like FrogWatch USA, along with festival logistics and hands-on strategies to bring water science into their classrooms.

The 2025 workshop theme, "Heart of the Wetland: A Systems Approach to Water Quality Education," emphasizes wetlands as interconnected systems, where water, soil, plants and wildlife work together to sustain healthy ecosystems.

Water Festival is made possible through the dedication of NGRREC staff, community volunteers and local partners who bring environmental science to life. The support of these generous donors ensures the festival reaches students and families across the community: Enbridge (Watershed Level Sponsor, $5,000+); Southern Regional Groundwater Protection Planning Committee and Wood River Refinery - Local Phillips 66 (Great Rivers Level Sponsor, $2,000+); and AAIC, Inc. and Simmons Hanly Conroy Foundation (Tributary Level Sponsor, $1,000+). Their commitment allows students to experience firsthand the wonders of water and the critical role it plays in our environment and communities.

Donors generously providing goods and services are Waste Management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Scooter's Coffee of Godfrey

Water Festival is exclusively for fifth-grade students in participating schools and is not open to the public.

National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠)

Founded in 2002 as a collaborative partnership between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Lewis and Clark Community College, NGRREC is dedicated to the study of great river systems and the communities that use them. The center aspires to be a leader in scholarly research, education, and outreach related to the interconnectedness of large rivers, their floodplains, watersheds, and their associated communities. To learn more about NGRREC, visit https://www.ngrrec.org.