How can kids protect the rivers in their own communities? On this Earth Day episode of The Children’s Hour, we hear from students across New Mexico who are taking action through RiverXchange. 

RiverXChange is a hands-on program that teaches fifth graders about watersheds and how water moves across the land. A watershed collects rain and snow and carries that water to rivers, lakes, and streams. When litter and pollution enter a watershed, they can travel downstream and affect many communities.

Students share their Earth Day projects. Some classes collected and weighed trash from their school grounds to measure how much litter was being left behind. Others created posters and made announcements to encourage recycling. At Zia Elementary, students planted cottonwood trees in the Bosque along the Rio Grande. These trees help protect the riverbank and support local wildlife.

Using RiverXChange’s Action Project Framework, students identify a problem, develop a plan, take action, reflect on what they learned, and celebrate their work.

Celebrate Earth Day with The Children’s Hour and get inspired to take action like the kids who we hear from in this episode. Some kids plant trees, some pick up trash, but all learn that we are each responsible as stewards of the Earth to keep our rivers and communities clean.

Today’s show was written and produced by Katie Stone, with production help from Christina Stella, Sarah Gabrielli, McKenzie Graunke, and Thaniel Lentz. Amber Shiel writes our learning guides.  

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