(MINNEAPOLIS) – The Mississippi River and four, 24-foot voyageur canoes are home and classroom for a group of Augsburg College students who will be in Dubuque from Sept. 28-30 as part of the nation’s first-ever River Semester.

The students, who have paddled more than 250 miles of river since departing St. Paul on Sept. 1 as part of their nearly 2,350-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico, will earn as many as 16 credits in biology, environmental studies, health and physical education, and political science.

“The canoes are a floating classroom where students translate into action what they learn on shore during lectures and from their reading and homework,” said Professor Joe Underhill, creator of this hands-on learning program.

“Each student also is responsible for personal research project, some in partnership with state and national agencies. Some of these projects contribute to the common good, and every project is a chance for teamwork and collaborative excellence.”

The dozen students participating in this hands-on learning program, created by Underhill, is offered in partnership with , a nonprofit and inclusive travel provider that specializes in experiential programming and outdoor travel for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.

“We know that what happens in the boats transfers to the classroom and life,” said Chad Dayton, director of programs and partner relations for Wilderness Inquiry. “Students develop increased confidence, better relationships with faculty, and throughout their college careers, they have a shared experience to refer back to that can help with problem solving.”

During the trip, students will:

• Conduct a field research project on a topic such as water pollution, the Clean Water Act, agriculture in the watershed, political organizing around environmental issues, race relations and social justice, or urban riverfront revitalization.
• Explore the history, literature, food, music and culture of the Mississippi River.
• Gain skills tailored to meet the needs of partner organizations, including businesses,  graduate schools, nonprofits and government agencies.
• Attend town hall meetings and meet with environmental organizations along the river.
• Hear from guest lecturers about authors Mark Twain and William Faulkner, ancient river civilizations, American Indian communities and their fight for justice, and the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

Students will return to the Twin Cities via train in mid-December and will arrive at St. Paul Union Depot.

An can be found on the River Semester website.

CONTACTS

• Stephanie Weiss, Augsburg College Director of News and Media Services, 612.330.1476
• Jeffrey Kemnitz, Wilderness Inquiry Outreach Director, 612.676.9427

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(MINNEAPOLIS) – A group of nearly 100 students, parents, high school students and members of the Augsburg College community will launch the nation’s first-ever River Semester on Sept. 1 at Kelley’s Landing on Harriet Island in St. Paul by paddling a flotilla of 24-foot voyageur canoes from St. Paul to South St. Paul.

Members of the media are invited to participate in the kickoff event and to paddle in one of 13 voyageur canoes with students and guests to South St. Paul.

Guests and media will be transported back to Kelley’s Landing and Augsburg College.

The 16 students in the Augsburg College River Semester will continue to travel nearly 2,000 of the 2,350-mile-long-Mississippi River from St. Paul to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. The group will live and study on the river until mid-December.

Members of the media can reserve paddling spots by noon, Thursday, Aug. 27, by contacting Stephanie Weiss, director of news and media services for Augsburg College at weisss@augsburg.edu.��

Event Details and Photo Opportunities

• 5 a.m.:  arrives with 13, 24-foot voyageur canoes
• 5:30 a.m.: Boats arrive at , St. Paul
• 5:30 – 6:30 a.m.: Students carry boats to landing, start packing their gear into dry bags
• 6:30 – 7:30 a.m.: Students load River Semester gear loaded into canoes
• 7:45 a.m.: River Troubadour Larry Long, Smithsonian/Folkways Recording Artist
• 7:50 a.m.:  Shuttle of Augsburg attendees arrives from campus
• 8 – 8:30 a.m.: Formal Program
  • Augsburg College President
  • St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman
  • Explorer Ann Bancroft (tentative)
  • Professor
• 8:30 a.m.: Special Music – Somos El Barco by River Troubadour Larry Long
• 8:45 – 9:30 a.m.: Flotilla orientation and safety, distribution of personal flotation devices, load voyageur canoes
• 9:30 a.m.: Launch!
• 9:30 a.m. – Noon: Paddle to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Boat Launch in South St. Paul (D23 on list).��Directions: I-494/Hardman Ave., N to Verderosa Ave., E and over tracks to site.
• 1 p.m.: Shuttle back to Harriet Island
• 2 p.m.: Shuttle back to Augsburg College

Learn more about the River Semester program in “.”

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(MINNEAPOLIS) – A class of 16 Augsburg College students led by Professor Joe Underhill will depart Sept. 1 in 24-foot voyageur canoes to spend the semester studying, researching and living on the river. The students taking part in the nation’s first-ever River Semester will travel nearly 2,000 miles of the 2,350-mile-long Mississippi River to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. The group will depart from in a launch event that is open to the public.

Students participating in this hands-on, interdisciplinary program will earn as many as 16 credits studying biology, environmental studies, health and physical education, and political science.

“The River Semester is a great example of the interdisciplinary, hands-on education for which Augsburg College is known. It shows the dedication of our faculty to build and deliver engaging learning programs that foster civic engagement,” said Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow.

During the trip, students will:

• Conduct a field research project on a topic such as water pollution, the Clean Water Act, agriculture in the watershed, political organizing around environmental issues, race relations and social justice, or urban riverfront revitalization.
• Explore the history, literature, food, music and culture of the Mississippi River.
• Gain skills tailored to meet the needs of partner organizations, including businesses,  graduate schools, nonprofits and government agencies.
• Attend town hall meetings and meet with environmental organizations along the river.
• Hear from guest lecturers about authors Mark Twain and William Faulkner, ancient river civilizations, American Indian communities and their fight for justice, and the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

To deliver the program, Augsburg is partnering with , a nonprofit and inclusive travel provider that specializes in educational programming and outdoor travel for persons with disabilities.

“Wilderness Inquiry has a decades-long commitment to place-based and environmental education. We’re thrilled to be part of this innovative, experiential program that is a first in higher education,” said Jeff Kemnitz, outreach director for Wilderness Inquiry.

Students will return to the Twin Cities via train on Dec. 17 and will arrive at St. Paul Union Depot.

, paddling about two hours from St. Paul to South St. Paul as part of a flotilla of 13 voyageur canoes that will include the Augsburg students, parents, high school students and members of the Augsburg community. Transportation will be provided from South St. Paul back to Kelley’s Landing.

An can be found on the River Semester website.

CONTACTS

• Stephanie Weiss, Augsburg College Director of News and Media Services, 612.330.1476
• Jeffrey Kemnitz, Wilderness Inquiry Outreach Director, 612.676.9427

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Joe Underhill, a political science associate professor at Augsburg, has taught the course that examines the politics, eco-systems, and communities of the mighty river that flows just blocks from Augsburg’s Minneapolis campus. While he has taken previous classes out in canoes for a couple of days or a weekend, this is the most ambitious river voyage yet.

By the time the trip is complete on September 4, the class that includes primarily sophomore and junior students will have traveled about 100 miles on the Mississippi and spent seven nights camping.

This journey, which will be done in 24-foot voyageur canoes that hold 6-10 people, is not simply an outdoor vacation. The students will have reading to complete, they will do field work that includes water quality testing, and they will take one exam.

“I’ve tried doing it a number of different ways, but the challenge has always been getting students to be able to be gone for several days because of other classes or jobs,” Underhill said. “The longest trip before was four days and three nights.”

Each day on the river, students will paddle in the morning when it is cooler and mix paddling and field work in the afternoon. After setting up camp and having dinner, the evenings will be filled with class discussion, reading, and journaling.

The longest day of paddling will be a 22-mile journey, and the group will travel more than 15 miles on two of the other days. The students will also go through four locks. Wilderness Inquiry, a non-profit organization that aims to help people experience nature, will provide the canoes. They will have two staff members on the journey and will provide transportation back to Minneapolis after the trip is complete.

The trip—which is a required part of the course—will make up about half of the classroom time for the semester. Once back on campus, the group will continue to meet, but the course will end prior to the traditional end of the fall semester. The students will also work on a project during the semester and will present to the campus community in early November.

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Augsburg’s Minneapolis campus is just blocks away from the largest river in North America — the Mississippi. Underhill emphasizes that the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul were founded in this particular location because of the industrial and commercial potential of the river and the falls of St. Anthony. He adds that over the years, our life and work has greatly impacted the river ecosystem.

The Environmental and River Politics course explores national and international debates about the politics of the relationship between humans and the natural world. Through trips to sites along the river, including a canoe trip on the river, and visits to local environmental organizations, students examine environmental problems and how those problems are manifest on campus and in the city.

Matti Minasie, junior biology and environmental studies major, says the course has helped her “see the environment through the political lens” and has given her a better understanding of how politics has and will shape the environment. “We have changed the river so much in terms of ecology and its natural flow, it’s sort of scary how much power we have given ourselves in determining what’s ‘best’ for the river and the economy,” she said.

The course outline examines wetlands loss and degradation and how to prevent or reverse damage, the relationship between climate change and stormwater run-off patterns, industrial contamination of groundwater, as well as fishing and recreation on the river.

Students also learn about the environmental history of Augsburg College through a research paper titled “From Rural to Urban: The Environmental History of Augsburg College, 1872-2005.” The paper, written by a group of students in the fall 2006 U.S. Environmental History course, explores Augsburg’s relationship to the environment, coming to the conclusion that the college has “…the knowledge, technology, and philosophical ability to create permanent change within a society that is slowly recognizing the importance of environmental awareness. Second, the institution must make long-term, ecologically-minded commitments in an era of increasingly environmentally alert students, faculty, staff, and community.”

For more information on environmental stewardship at Augsburg, go to .

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Projects included a team cleaning up debris along the Mississippi River and others planting a border and building a path in the community garden. There were five painting projects involving 45 faculty, staff, and students working in Marketing and Communication, Event and Conference Planning, Murphy Place, Lindell Library, and the tunnel beneath Christensen Center.

Tim Dougherty of the Center for Service, Work, and Learning, led projects in the community garden. Half of his crew — including President Pribbenow and his family — planted a border around the garden. Donations included day lilies and other plants from biology professor Ralph Butkowski’s yard, various perennials from Augsburg for Adults recruiter Judy Johnson, and annual flowers procured through Augsburg’s membership in the Minnesota Green Program (through the Minnesota Horticultural Society).

The other half of Dougherty’s team began building a stone path that will lead to both the labyrinth and the garden from the sidewalk on 20th Avenue. Dougherty said, “We couldn’t have gotten very far on this project without the leadership of Bruce Rowe and his summer grounds crew. Those folks are impressive!”

A group of 12 staff members (shown above with their haul) cleaned up a half acre of land along the Mississippi River. Staff member Matt Rumpza said, “Not only did we clean up our river edge, but I also met some great people.” Augsburg is a steward of a section of the river gorge through the Friends of the Mississippi River initiative.

Members of the marketing and communication department worked with Mike Magler and a team of painters to freshen up the walls of the tunnel. The Augsburg paint crew later added a maroon stripe to the walls and painted the handrails. Soon, signs will be added to the floor and walls.

At the annual staff picnic following the beautification projects, Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow praised the campus community. “We at Augsburg are always mindful of caring for and helping our neighbors,” he said, “but we must remember that we are neighbors to each other. This day has demonstrated our commitment to making our campus a beautiful place.”

Pribbenow also offered thanks to the Staff Senate and Cherie Christ, who initially proposed the project as a staff service project and community-building experience. Christ said she hopes the efforts generated a sense of ownership in our workspaces and illustrated the importance of giving back to our internal as well as our external communities.

Christ said, “One of the best parts of the day, for me personally, was the opportunity to work with students on a different level. My work doesn’t always allow me to do this, and it was fun just getting to know the students.”

Special thanks to the Campus Beautification Committee: David Draus, Lisa Roe, Cherie Christ, Tim Dougherty, and Tom Morgan.

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The tragic event that took place yesterday with the collapse of the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River is a grim reminder of how fragile life can be. Events such as this bring the community closer together and we all feel the pain and suffering that is present. We wish to extend our thoughts and prayers to all who were impacted by this tragedy.

Augsburg College remains open on Thursday, August 2.

Events will continue as scheduled.

Road Access to Campus

For more information about detours and access to campus, visit the

Department of Transportation’s Web site.

Other Links:

Getting to Augsburg:

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is making Minnesota Highway 280 the primary route to replace northbound and southbound I-35W traffic. It will carry traffic from I-35W in Roseville to Interstate 94.

From the North

Take Minnesota Highway 280 to I-94 Westbound

Take Riverside exit, turn right at Riverside Avenue, turn left at 22nd Avenue South.

Please note: Broadway Avenue and County Road B will no longer have access to Minnesota Highway 280.

I-94 from Minneapolis

Take 25th Avenue exit, turn left at 25th Avenue, turn left at Riverside Avenue, turn left at 22nd Avenue South.

I-94 West from St. Paul

Take Riverside exit, turn right at Riverside Avenue, turn left at 22nd Avenue South.

35W from the South

Follow the I-94 St. Paul signs (move to right lane after each of two merges). Take 25th Avenue exit and turn left at Riverside Avenue, turn left at 22nd Avenue South.

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