Growing Curiosity: A Record Year for Water Wise Workshops

October 31, 2025

OARS River Log | By Sarah Kwan, OARS’ Director of Advancement | Published Oct 31, 2025

This year, OARS’ Water Wise Workshops made a big splash—reaching more students, schools, and communities than ever before. What started as a handful of environmental lessons has grown into a watershed-wide education program inspiring hundreds of young learners to explore the science of water, ecology, and stewardship.

Over the past year, OARS delivered 79 Water Wise Workshop sessions across 12 locations, engaging over 700 students from winter through summer. That’s nearly ten times more students than the previous year—a powerful sign of how much curiosity and excitement these hands-on lessons spark in our communities.

Students from Stow gather around with excitement as OARS’ TerraCorps Service Member, Isabel Ryen, introduces one of the aquatic animals from our watershed, shared through our partnership with The Nature Connections (nature-connection.org). Hands-on moments like this bring local wildlife up close and make science come alive during Water Wise Workshops.

Expanding Access and Building New Partnerships

For the first time, every Maynard second-grader participated in a Water Wise Workshops during the school year, bringing environmental science directly into the classrooms. We also launched our first afterschool programs in Concord and Lowell, reaching students through partnerships with Concord Parks & Recreation, Coalition for a Better Acre, and Community Teamwork Inc. Nearly half of all sessions this year were offered through grant-funded programs, ensuring that cost was never a barrier to participation.

The program’s reach also extended through new partnerships with Framingham and Concord public libraries, Hopkinton, Stow, Acton, Westborough, and Westford Parks and Recreation, and long-standing collaborations with the Hudson and Marlborough Boys & Girls Clubs. Together, these partnerships are connecting more children to their rivers, streams, and wetlands—many for the first time.

Learning Through Discovery

Each Water Wise Workshop is designed to bring environmental science to life. Students test water samples, explore river ecosystems, and learn how small changes on land can ripple through entire watersheds. Whether identifying macroinvertebrates or building models of stormwater systems, participants experience firsthand how interconnected their local environment really is.

As one educator shared, “The students loved being scientists for a day. They asked questions we hadn’t even thought of, and they didn’t want the session to end!”

Looking Ahead

With support from our community and foundation partners, OARS will continue to grow the Water Wise Workshops in 2026, bringing hands-on environmental learning to even more classrooms, camps, and afterschool programs across the SuAsCo watershed.

River Log

~30%

of the SuAsCo rivers watershed is wetlands, crucial for wildlife habitat and water quality

~30%

of water samples in the SuAsCo rivers watershed contain PFAS, leading to increased monitoring and remediation by local authorities and environmental groups

~70%

of dams in the SuAsCo watershed are over a century old, requiring extensive upkeep and presenting obstacles to river restoration and fish passage

>40%

of the land within the watershed is publicly accessible, offering recreational opportunities such as hiking, boating, and birdwatching to the community

~15%

of the land in the SuAsCo rivers watershed is covered by impervious surfaces such as roads, rooftops, and parking lots. This contributes to stormwater runoff and water pollution issues

>40%

of the land within the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord rivers watershed is publicly accessible, providing endless opportunities for paddling, hiking, and wildlife exploration.