Chicago-Calumet River Schools Network: 30 Years of Pioneering River Education

More than 600,000 students and teachers engaged since 1996

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For 30 years, the Chicago-Calumet River Schools Network (CRSN) has pioneered teaching and learning that puts the Chicago-Calumet River system at the center of the classroom.

When Friends of the Chicago River launched the CRSN in 1996, few, if any, programs were using an urban river system as a living classroom for K-12 education. Friends saw an opportunity to change that. The river could be a place where students investigated science, explored history, understood their communities, and discovered their own power to create change.

Three decades later, the CRSN has introduced more than 600,000 students and teachers to the Chicago-Calumet River system. The CRSN has become one of Friends’ signature initiatives, empowering teachers with river-focused curriculum and hands-on experiences while helping generations of students develop a lifelong connection to the river system.

The CRSN has also consistently been one of Friends' most diverse and inclusive programs. 81% of participating students attend public schools, while 72% attend Chicago Public Schools; of those CPS students, 42% are from low-income families.

Why River-based Education?

Instead of teaching environmental science only from a textbook, CRSN educators bring students to the river to observe, investigate, collect data, ask questions, and solve real-world problems. The CRSN is rooted in place-based learning. The Chicago-Calumet River system has become a laboratory for STEM learning and a place where students can understand water quality, biodiversity, climate change, pollution issues, and environmental justice.

Empowering Teachers

At the heart of the CRSN are teachers. From the beginning, Friends recognized that lasting environmental education depends on supporting educators with the knowledge and resources to bring river-based learning into their lesson plans. In 2004, Friends actually created river curriculum books for K-12 and trained teachers on them. Since 1996, more than 2,000 teachers have participated in CRSN workshops. The CRSN provides K-12 educators with professional development, curriculum resources, field experiences, and personalized support designed to help them meet Illinois' Next Generation Science Standards.

Inspiring Student Leadership

The CRSN has always been about teaching students about the river and helping them understand that they have a role in shaping its future.

That approach led to the creation of the Chicago River Student Congress, a pioneering student-driven gathering where students take the lead in exploring the issues affecting the river system.

For nearly 30 years, students have come together at the Student Congress to present research, share ideas, learn from scientists and environmental professionals, and explore solutions to real environmental challenges. More than 8,000 students and 885 teachers have participated in the Student Congress over the years.

What began as a gathering hosted in high schools has evolved into a larger student leadership experience, with the Student Congress now hosted on the campus of Northeastern Illinois University.

Bringing New Tools into Classroom Lessons

Following the launch of Friends' award-winning Natural Solutions Tool in 2023, the CRSN collaborated with educators to develop a series of lessons that bring the Tool into classrooms. Students use real-world data and mapping to explore how nature-based solutions can address challenges facing their communities.

Through these lessons, students develop skills in map comprehension, data visualization, environmental analysis, environmental justice, and problem-solving and critical thinking.

The Natural Solutions Tool builds on the CRSN's longstanding commitment to STEM-based, place-based education while giving students new ways to understand the relationship between people and the natural environment.

Adopt A River Schools is one of the CRSN’s signature initiatives, for schools that make the Chicago-Calumet River system an integral part of teaching and learning. Adopt A River Schools also participate in EarthEcho International’s Water Challenge, one of the world’s largest community science initiatives focused on protecting water resources. Each year, students collect and analyze water quality data using established scientific protocols, submit their findings to a global database, and contribute to a growing body of data about freshwater ecosystems.

The Next 30 Years

Friends pioneered river-based education at a time when few programs were doing anything like it. Today, the need for environmental education is greater than ever. The CRSN creates a connection to the river for teachers and students as well as provides the resources to teach students about the complex environmental challenges that surround it, and to inspire confidence in them to take action as lifelong stewards of the environment.