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Hawley River Watch

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Hawley River Watch

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This page gives information about the Hawley River Watch program at Hawley Public Schools.

09/18/2025

RIVER WATCH SEASON UNDERWAY!!

The 2025-26 Hawley River Watch Team had its first outing of the season on Tuesday, September 16th! Nine team members conducted water quality samples on the Buffalo River and one of its tributaries, Hay Creek. Conditions for sampling were downright incredible with sunny skies and temperatures hovering in the mid-80’s. Our team worked hard and cooperated so well - It was a great way to begin the 19th season of River Watch in Hawley.

A special thanks to Hawley DQ for a great meal and service! It’s our tradition to stop there for lunch on sampling days - thank you!

Feel free to go through the pictures to see what our team was up to. Thanks for checking out Hawley River Watch!

08/27/2025

HAWLEY RIVER WATCH IS READY FOR KICKOFF

Greetings!

With a new school year about to start, that means it’s time to get ready for another year of Hawley River Watch!!

What is River Watch anyway? It’s a school sponsored activity where students learn about the Buffalo River and Red River Watersheds through hands on scientific and recreational experiences. Students conduct water quality samples several times a year using a variety of sophisticated technology and equipment. Once a year, we sample macroinvertabrates (bugs) in the river using nets, waders, and a host of lab equipment. We also kayak and paddle in canoes in the fall on the Buffalo River and Red River. During the winter months, the team works together on an assignment that is presented at the River Watch Forum, which is a gathering of River Watch schools in the tri-state area. There are a few other things we do, too. Almost all River Watch activities take place during the school day.

If you’d like to be a part of River Watch, please visit the school activities website to register. You must register and have fees paid to participate. Anyone in grades 7-12 can join. Link below.

https://sites.google.com/hawley.k12.mn.us/hawley-public-schools/registration

If you’d like to learn more about the program, please reach out to Beau Lofgren, Hawley River Watch Advisor, at [email protected]

Here are some pictures from years’ past to get a glimpse of what we do. Have a great day!

03/03/2025

With the calendar flipping to March over the weekend, it means we are inching closer to warmer weather and ice free waters. Until that time officially arrives, check out these photos of the Hawley River Watch Team kayaking Silver Lake this past October. We were blessed with an outstanding day with some solid fall colors!

02/27/2025

HAWLEY ATTENDS 30th ANNUAL RIVER WATCH FORUM

On Wednesday, February 26th, the Hawley River Watch team traveled north to the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, ND, to participate in the 30th Annual River Watch Forum. The Forum is an event that highlights the hard work done by the 25 active river watch programs throughout Minnesota and North Dakota. It's a day of learning, collaborating, and fun!

The keynote speaker at this year's event was WDAY Meteorologist John Wheeler. He gave a very insightful presentation on his career, advice for students, and posed many science-based questions related to weather. He concluded with a question-answer session with the audience. Following the large group keynote, students went into various breakdown sessions that included visiting with a number of area colleges/universities about the programs they offer, an art session that circled back to River of Dreams (a River Watch project students do as 4th graders), and the presentation of their project.

Teams are given an intensive project assignment each year and then that project is presented at the Forum. This year's project theme dealt with stewardship of local resources and recreation. Teams work throughout the winter to research, plan, implement, and present their ideas to a panel of judges. The top three projects are then recognized at the awards program. Hawley did not place this year, but their team put forth tremendous effort and had great enthusiasm with their presentation.

After a hearty taco buffet lunch, awards and door prizes were given out. Gavin Dagenais won a $25 gift card to Cabela's while Kalli Murphy won a 10-foot kayak! That was interesting getting it to fit in the short bus on the way home!

For more information about the River Watch program, head to the International Water Institute website. https://iwinst.org/front-page/river-watch

We will try to do another sampling day or two this spring if weather, water levels, and busy schedules cooperate. Feel free to check out these photos for more info on our day at the Forum. Have a good day!

11/21/2024

RIVER WATCH CLOTHING ORDER

For the first time in our program's 18 year history, we are offering a Hawley River Watch Clothing/Apparel order!

We are working with the awesome crew at Long Weekend Sportswear in Perham who have put together a pretty solid assortment of items to choose from. The order is open through November 28th at 11:59pm. Items ordered will be delivered to the school and then distributed from there.

If you have any questions about this order or the Hawley River Watch program in general, please contact Beau Lofgren at [email protected], or call the Hawley Elementary School.

Thank you for checking out our online store!

https://hawleyriverwatch2024.itemorder.com/

11/14/2024

RIVER WATCH TEAM BRAVES BITTER ELEMENTS

Four fierce members of the Hawley River Watch team ventured into the outdoors for a rare November water sampling day on November 12th. Typically, rivers begin to ice over in the month, but our weather has cooperated this fall to allow for this opportunity. It was the first time the team has sampled in November in five years!

Take a tour with the team with the pictures and captions!

Look for a recap of our fall kayaking adventure soon!

10/14/2024

JUNIORS ROCK OCTOBER WATER SAMPLING

On Friday, October 4, seven students from the HHS Class of 2026 savored a sun-splashed day of water quality monitoring within the Buffalo River Watershed. All seven students were rookies at this when the day began, but by the final sampling site, they were extremely efficient! These ladies rocked it! Thanks to Mallory, McKenna, Hailey, Emily, Sadie, Addison, and Eagan for a splendid day of sampling!

Check out the pics and captions to learn more!

10/10/2024

RIVER WATCH TEAM GOES MACRO-SAMPLING

On Thursday, October 3rd, the Hawley River Watch Team ventured out into our local watershed for a very fun and informative work session. Seven students partook in macro invertebrate sampling on Hay Creek just before it enters into the Buffalo River northeast of Hawley, and just north of Winnipeg Junction. Macro invertebrates are bugs that do not possess a backbone. Samples are taken yearly to determine stream and river health. How healthy are the Buffalo River and Hay Creek right now? You’ll have to scroll through the pics to find out!

09/26/2024

RIVER WATCH TEAM ATTENDS FALL KICKOFF

The Hawley River Watch Team attended the 2024 River Watch Fall Kickoff event this past Monday hosted by the International Water Institute. It was held at MB Johnson Park in north Moorhead on a sunny, windy, and comfortable day to be outdoors. Six area schools attended this year’s event, so it provided a chance for our team members to meet students from other River Watch programs.

The day began with donuts and juice! After that, IWI staff introduced themselves and gave the itinerary of the day. The rest of the morning featured an awesome paddling opportunity sponsored by Wilderness Inquiry. Students were able to paddle several miles up and down the Red River in 10-passenger canoes! It was an amazing experience and gave a unique perspective of the area from the vantage point of the river.

Following their river excursion, a pizza lunch was provided by Papa John’s. In the afternoon, several breakout sessions were held. These sessions included information on the Red River Watershed and its sub-watersheds, an activity that took water samples from each of the Red River’s major tributaries and mixing them together to “make” the Red River, and the River Watch Forum Assignment for 2024-25. Teams were given time to brainstorm and bounce ideas for the project.

13 team members attended the event with several welcomed newcomers! It was another solid day for Hawley River Watch as the team is off to a great start!

Check out the pictures and captions for more information about the Fall Kickoff event!

09/20/2024

Greetings!

Welcome to the Hawley River Watch page! This page is long overdue as Hawley has had River Watch for almost 20 years. Now was the time to get “social” with the program.

What is River Watch? River Watch is a school sponsored program that works directly with the International Water Institute. River Watch enhances watershed understanding and awareness for tomorrow’s decision-making through direct hands-on, field-based experiential watershed science. Schools throughout the Red River of the North Basin participate in a variety of unique and innovative watershed engagement opportunities suited to their school, community, and watershed needs.

River Watch schools participate in Water Quality Monitoring, Fall Kick Off paddling the Red River, the Annual River Watch Forum, Macroinvertebrate Monitoring, and River Explorers (kayaking). This page will highlight current and future events, and will also feature some throwback moments from year’s past as well.

Our 2024-25 River Watch Team had its first outing on Friday, September 13th conducting water quality monitoring. On an absolutely gorgeous day, nine students enjoyed the outdoors while learning more about the Buffalo River and its watershed. Take a tour with us with the picture and captions in this post. With River Watch, you never know what you’ll experience on any given day. 😊

Address

715 9th Street

56549

Telephone

+12184833555

Website

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