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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world;
indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead (1901-1978)
quoted in John M. Richardson, ed. Making it Happen, 1982.

The River-Friendly School Program aims to empower students to initiate actions that will improve the quality of their watershed. The goals of the River-Friendly School Program include providing students with the education and skills necessary to assess Water Quality Management Practices, Water Conservation Techniques, and Wildlife Habitat Provisions on their school campuses and to implement stewardship projects that will improve the quality of the watershed.

Through the River-Friendly Schools Program the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association works with teachers and students to increase environmental literacy and promote a sense of environmental stewardship through integrating knowledge and real life experience.

Montgomery High School was the first to pilot the River-Friendly School Program.  With assistance from Johnson and Johnson and the Association, Montgomery High School students tested nearby waters and soil and calculated heat loss from windows.  Students also conducted an inventory of school grounds management practices and explored alternatives to lawn maintenance.

The Hun School in Princeton also participated in the River-Friendly Schools Program and stenciled local storm drains through the Association’s Project Turtle.

Examples of River-Friendly School stewardship actions include:

• Submitting biological & chemical data
• Maintaining a riparian buffer zone
• Restoring stream banks
• Improving infiltration with rain gardens
• Managing lawn care
• Creating a ‘no mow’ zone
• Storm drain stenciling with ‘Project Turtle’