LCCC center to host Mississippi River Watershed Education Symposium
GODFREY – The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center invites educators and other watershed professionals to attend the Mississippi River Watershed Education Symposium Nov. 14 and 15 on the Lewis and Clark Community College campus in Godfrey.
This two-day symposium will combine professional development workshops with speaker presentations and area field trips.
“This symposium will mark NGRREC’s eighth in a series of conferences and public symposia since its formation in 2002 and the first with an education focus,” said Environmental Education Manager Natalie Marioni. “The Mississippi River Watershed Education Symposium will bring together educators who have an interest in infusing watershed topics into their programming with other professionals to provide an opportunity to learn and develop unique collaborations on important topics around watersheds.”
A registration fee of $55 covers both days of the conference.
The event will have two keynote presentations, one by Sean O’Connor of National Geographic and the other by Chad Pregracke of Living Lands & Waters.
O’Connor is the program manager of educational mapping for National Geographic Education. His experience with educational mapping includes designing maps and interactive map technologies for a range of audiences.
Pregracke is the president and founder of Living Lands & Waters, what he calls the world’s only “industrial strength,” not-for-profit river cleanup organization. He spent his life growing up and working on the Mississippi River. During the last 16 years, he, his crew and approximately 70,000 volunteers have removed more than 7 million pounds of garbage out of the nation’s rivers. He was named the 2013 CNN Hero of the Year.
The registration fee includes keynote presentations, concurrent sessions and lunch both days, as well as a reception and dinner Friday, Nov. 14. Some workshops may require an additional fee. Those interested can register online at www.ngrrec.org/MRWESregistration.
Co-sponsors include the Little River Research & Design, Madison County Planning and Development, Missouri Botanical Garden, National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, Lewis and Clark Community College, Office of Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon, Southwestern Illinois College and the University of Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences.
For more information, contact Environmental Education Manager Natalie Marioni at (618) 468-2783 or nmarioni@lc.edu.
