Source to Sea School

In Spring of 2026 we partnered with 3 East Bay High Schools who’s students receive their water from the Mokelumne River.

💧Our Pilot made the news! Read here

💧We had 266 student touch points

💧At the end of the 5 lesson unit 89% of students could name the Mokelumne River as the source of their drinking water!

💧The pilot showed us just how much this kind of curriculum is needed in schools!

You can read more about the highlights on our Blog.

This program is continually expanding our partnership and funding opportunities. Please get in touch if you’re interested in collaboration and support!

We are currently looking for High School Teachers in the East Bay to partner with for the 2026/2027 school year. Fill out a Teacher Interest Form here!

This program helps students

💧ability to cope with changing water resource issues due to climate change and create a sense of belonging for humans within the larger water cycle.​​​​
💧to understand where their water comes from.
💧 bridge gaps between urban residents, farmers in the Sacramento Delta region, plants and animals of the up-river ecology areas.

Background: In 2022 RFC grantee Nina Gordon-Kirsch-Home 2 Headwaters embarked on a 33 day journey to find out where her water comes from. Nina left her home on Chochenyo Ohlone land (Oakland) on foot and over 240 miles later arrived on Washoe land, at the headwaters of the Mokelumne River in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

The pilot program was generously supported by a grant from:

With Additional support from Individual Donors! Thank you ALL!

With your support we can continue to expand this program to more schools and students!

Aimed at training the next generation of environmental stewards, our Source to Sea Educational Adventure incorporates experiential learning through various activities such as river/beach cleanups, environmental curriculum, water safety, and of course paddling skills. It’s a fun and engaging way for kids to learn about source to sea literacy principles of how water is connected to all parts of their lives. From what they eat and drink, to what they wear it’s all interconnected through those drops of water. They learn about the natural history of the area, the tribal lands they are traveling through, how the river has changed over time and how the surrounding flora and fauna depend on the river as a resource. The larger watershed ecosystem becomes viscerally understood as they travel pre-selected sections of the river from source to sea. Students not only witness the change in the river as they travel downstream, but are able to engage with the various communities that live along and utilize the river. Making new friends, exploring a new place, and learning to fall in love with the natural environment are all ingredients to becoming environmental stewards of the future.

These educational adventures target students between the ages of 10-14 to train the next generation of stewards.

Throughout the journey, student ambassadors interact with numerous river and watershed stewardship agencies and partners. Each day they will learn about the unique ecological values of the river and watershed at that location, the risks to those values, and what river stewardship partners are doing to protect and restore those values. Up to three on-shore events will also be planned during the source to sea journey, which will be attended by middle school science classrooms. Participating students will engage in field exercises to learn about river restoration, managing water supply, river safety, and native fisheries management. The student ambassador team will gain a deep understanding of how rivers change as they travel through the watershed, including the natural and human-caused forces that manifest change, and what can be done to protect and help restore rivers, lakes, and watershed resources.

RFC has a goal to engage students in a way that makes them aware of the importance of the river for themselves and their community, and also how this changes for different communities along the river.

1. 1. Instill in students an awareness and love for their local watershed that will last their lifetime
   2. Begin their relationship as stewards of their local environment during the important formative years
   3. A source to sea (terminus) program fits well with civics and science curriculum – particularly in 5-6 grade.

The research shows that the more exposure someone has to the outdoors at a young age, the more likely they are to be interested in learning about it, and feeling concern for it (Chawla 1989). The greatest influence for becoming an environmentalist is this visceral exposure to it in childhood (Chawla, 1999). We are extremely happy to be able to support inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards through our Source to Sea Educational Adventure program.

“Chawla interviewed numerous professional environmentalists in the USA and in Norway about the experiences and people who shaped and influenced their decisions to become environmentalists. Furthermore, she reviewed previous studies that had been done on formative life experiences of environmentalists. In her study, she explored retrospectively what factors influenced people’s environ-mental sensitivity. She defines environmental sensitivity as ‘a predisposition to take an interest in learning about the environment, feeling concern for it, and acting to conserve it, on the basis of formative experiences’ (Chawla, 1998). Not surprisingly, she finds that there is no single experience that sensitizes people’s awareness but a combination of factors. Among the most frequently mentioned (decreasing in relevance) are:

• Childhood experiences in nature
• Experiences of pro-environmental destruction
• Pro- environmental values held by the family
• Pro-environmental organizations
• Role models (friends or teachers)
•  Education.

During childhood, the most influential were experiences of natural areas and family; during adolescence and early adulthood, education and friends were mentioned most frequently; and during adulthood, it was pro-environmental organizations (Chawla, 1999)……her studies are valuable in that they show how important an emotional connection to the natural environment seems to be in fostering environmental awareness and environmental concern.” Kollmus and Ageyeman (2002)

REFERENCES:

Louise Chawla (1999)Life Paths Into Effective Environmental Action, The Journal of Environmental Education, 31:1, 15-26, DOI: 10.1080/00958969909598628

Anja Kollmuss & Julian Agyeman (2002) Mind the Gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior?, Environmental Education Research, 8:3, 239-260, DOI: 10.1080/13504620220145401