River of Words

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Good-bye Dear Petey

Our first ever ROW state coordinator, Petey Giroux, lost her battle with pancreatic cancer on July 30th. She died surrounded by her family and friends and leaves behind a legacy of public service and many creative educational programs that enhanced the lives of Georgia's citizens, particularly its children. Petey's lifelong devotion to environmental protection, education and animals won her many awards and the love and respect of countless people. She virtually invented the role of state coordinator for us, utilizing her position at Georgia's Department of Natural Resources to spread River of Words' curriculum throughout the state. Today, thousands and thousands of Georgia schoolchildren participate in River of Words, the state's nature centers offer teachers and students a "River of Words Field Trip," traveling ROW exhibits are on constant display, and the new Georgia Aquarium—largest in the world—in Atlanta features art and poetry from River of Words. Petey attended our award ceremony at The Library of Congress several years ago, in her role as "Earthina," spinning through the aisles as she entered, to the delight of the audience. She was funny, smart, compassionate, vivacious and a good friend. She will be missed.

ROW State Coordinator Petey Giroux,
as "Earthina", presents an award to student

Read Petey's Obituary

South Carolina River of Words Video

South Carolina's promotional video can also be viewed on YouTube and on TeacherTube.

ROW is based on an understanding of the wisdom and importance of local knowledge. We don’t go into classrooms or parks to teach your students; rather we offer tools — workshops, curriculum guides, implementation tips, and so on — to help you bring your watershed’s cultural and natural history alive for your students and community. Our ”Watershed Explorer“ curriculum is merely a framework; it needs specific information about your watershed in order to be effective.

Many states have ROW Coordinators that can provide this specific information about local literature and ecology. Some states also administer state-level ROW contests (in conjunction with our international contest) and award state ROW prizes; some even conduct their own teacher training workshops and have traveling ROW exhibits. These ROW Coordinators are unpaid and have volunteered to serve in this capacity. All have other jobs and responsibilities, yet are committed to promoting ROW participation and visibility in their states. They offer a wide variety of assistance and resources, from minimal to extensive, for teachers and students. We thank them all heartily.

Some of the assistance State Coordinators may offer includes:

Teacher Training Workshops
ROW Educator’s Guides
Grade-specific reading lists
“Literary” maps, listing their state’s authors and poets
State-level contest prizes
State-level award ceremonies
State-specific curriculum materials
Lists of supplemental classroom resources, like visiting naturalists, poets, etc.
Display opportunities for student work
Publication of ROW state winners’ work
Connecting teachers who are participating in River of Words with each other

If you’re lucky enough to live in a state with a Coordinator, please contact them. If you don’t see a coordinator listed for your state, region, or country, check back-the list is growing!

River of Words^® · 2547 Eighth Street, 13B · Berkeley, CA 94710 USA
info@riverofwords.org · Phone:510-548-7636 · Fax:510-548-2095