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Launching into Summer
Andy Ulven – Monitoring and Education Specialist
In 2019, the River of Dreams program made waves by reaching new audiences and new watersheds. Program materials received updating, we more than doubled our reach, and students garnered attention in local publications around the Red  River Basin. In Minnesota, continued funding from the Red River Watershed Management Board and Clean Water Legacy Fund allowed the IWI to work with 530 students at 16 schools. In North Dakota, funding provided by the State Water Commission and Red River Joint Water Resource District helped River of Dreams reach 18 schools and 697 students, bringing the total count for the year to over 1,200 canoes launched.
Reaching such a large audience takes a lot of preparation and teamwork. IWI education staff worked together to create new materials, maps, and connections across the basin. An NDSU architecture graduate student, Laura Salmela, was commissioned to  create a customized Red River Basin map. Taylor Lemieux, our 2018-2019 River of Dreams Education Assistant, helped create new classroom materials. Also this year, the database received a facelift and new capabilities in order to accommodate an increasing volume of canoe launches.
Though some things have changed, the core message remains the same: we are all connected to the Red River by our local tributary streams. Our water flows north to Lake Winnipeg, and on down to Hudson Bay. There is always someone upstream and downstream of our hometown who is dependent upon the same water resources, and it is our duty to be good stewards. On a personal level, it is fulfilling to see interest in rivers and watersheds sparked and even more enjoyable to view students’ dream stories and designs. With over 1,200 canoes launched this spring and nearly 5,000 other canoes launched since 2002, we never know where the next canoe will be found – or who will find it. Explore your local river this summer and it might just be you.
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To view the latest River of Dreams sightings, click here.
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Girl scouts picking up trash in East Grand Forks found a 2017 Hawley canoe (left). A freshly launched 2019 canoe from Grand Forks Schroeder was found by a young fisherman in Oslo, MN (right).
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A canoe launched from Fisher, MN in 2016 was found near Hallock, washed out into a ditch after this year's high flows on the Red River.
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A student from Lisbon winds up to give his canoe a head start on the Sheyenne River (left). The Mustinka River awaits an earth-themed canoe decorated by a student from Herman-Norcross (right).
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River of Dreams in the News
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A sampling of designs from around the basin in 2019
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Thank You, Taylor!
During the 2018-2019 school year, Taylor Lemieux served as our River of Dreams Education Assistant. She made major contributions to the  development of new materials, and helped us sift through canoe launches from the early 2000's in the database. Taylor spent time this winter visiting classrooms and lead canoe launch events this spring (pictured at right in Harwood, ND). Taylor recently completed her bachelor's degree at NDSU in natural resource management and wrapped up her position with the IWI at the end of May. We will miss Taylor for her diligence and friendly attitude, and wish her the best moving forward into whatever is next!
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