Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) is dedicated to building a watershed community of caretakers. This goal involves educating the public and empowering them to advocate for the health of their community. One of our major challenges is that the Fox River Watershed spans 200 miles, crosses a state line, and includes 15 counties and numerous jurisdictional boundaries.

To achieve our mission, FOTFR provides public outreach and educational experiences that promote best practices for protecting water quality. We organize a variety of events, from our annual watershed-wide It’s Our Fox River Day to smaller group activities – all focused on raising awareness about safeguarding our community’s most critical resource: water.

FOTFR engages the public through a weekly email newsletter and daily updates on social media. While some of our services involve a fee structure, we never deny access based on an individual’s ability to pay. You can support these efforts by volunteering as an educator or by making a contribution.

Leaders in Watershed Education

At FOTFR, we believe education is the most powerful tool for protecting watersheds. By working directly with youth, we help ensure healthier communities and environments for the future. For over 30 years, FOTFR has filled this niche, and it’s more critical now than ever before.

The educational experiences we provide for children are multi-sensory. FOTFR offers schools, youth groups, and adult audiences a range of meaningful, hands-on watershed education activities. Each year, we conduct an average of 5,000 educational experiences.

Today’s youth are already making decisions as consumers, and their lifestyle choices directly affect local water quality. By connecting students to their local environment, we inspire them to engage in activities like litter clean-ups, removing invasive species, and promoting best practices at home. As they grow into future decision-makers: voters, business owners, and community leaders—these values will positively influence the broader community over time.

Outdoor Education

During the field season, FOTFR staff invite youth to put on boots and wade into local streams to explore and collect water quality data. They measure habitat conditions, test water chemistry, and gather samples of the organisms living there. These insects, crayfish, and mussels serve as indicators of the stream’s health.

In September, FOTFR worked with students from McHenry Community College, various sixth grade classes, Girl Scouts, and other groups, giving them the opportunity to learn firsthand about water quality. This summer, we also hosted a successful two-week camp at Schweitzer Woods, which we plan to expand next year.

Indoor Education

When outdoor activities aren’t possible, FOTFR brings the stream indoors. We use recently collected specimens or simulations to replicate the outdoor learning experience. One popular tool is the Enviroscape Model, a tabletop landscape that represents various environments—industry, retail, agriculture, residential, and more. Participants apply materials like fertilizer, litter, soil, deicer, and animal waste to see how these pollutants can enter the aquatic ecosystem, i.e., the Fox River and more importantly, how they can reduce those risks.

This method has been particularly effective in our partnership with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Ignition, where we deliver after-school programs to 17 elementary and middle schools on Aurora’s east side.

Adult Experiences

FOTFR regularly presents educational programs to organizations and the general public. Recent presentations include talks for the Elgin Retired Teachers Association and the Elgin Garden Club. This month’s Second Sunday series at our Schweitzer Environmental Center featured discussions on upcoming referendums and an update on the Carpentersville Dam and river restoration project.

Our hands-on experiences aren’t just for youth. Connecting people with nature is at the core of FOTFR’s mission. Often, these experiences help people form their first meaningful connection with the Fox River. Recently, we hosted a shoreline cleanup in Batavia with corporate volunteers from the Aldi group and organized a canoe trip for English as a Second Language teachers.

Help Us

• Know someone who may be interested in joining our Education Team? It is a fun and gratifying experience.
• Know a group or school that may be interested in our unique services? Offer us a contact.
• Want to contribute directly to our efforts? Sponsor youth education with a monthly contribution.
• Watch our short film, Watershed Warriors to get inspired and share with others. Together, we keep on fixin’ the Fox.