Spring Detroit River Water Festival
The Spring Detroit River Water Festival is hosted at the
Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge in Trenton, Michigan.
Happening on May 6 & 7, 2025!
The Detroit River Water Festival is an outdoor, educational event designed to help students learn about our most precious natural resource - clean, fresh water. Students from the Downriver area will come together to learn about the Detroit River. The Detroit River Water Festival is offered as a FREE program to help educate 4th and 5th students about the importance and beauty of the water around us and how it impacts our daily lives. The Water Festival provides students with hands-on activities, taught by top level academic instructors and water quality professionals designed to expose students to a wide variety of water related issues. Through attending the Water Festival students gain an understanding of the diverse topics related to our water resources including ecosystems, social studies, the geosphere and the hydrologic cycle. By being an active participant in the Water Festival students, and adults learn the central role water and the Detroit River play in the region's economy and quality of life and begin to understand their lifetime role as stewards of this remarkable natural resource.
Registration for Spring 2025 is open!
Teacher / School Information
The Water Festival is free to attend and schools in the Downriver area are invited to apply. Presentations are designed to correlate with 4-5th grade science education standards. A maximum of 30 students can be registered per teacher. If you have a classroom / school size larger than 30 students, you must complete multiple registrations with different points of contact listed for each group of 30 students. Teachers / chaperones are expected to stay with their group of no more than 30 students throughout the entire Water Festival.
We ask that your class arrives by 10:00 am for check-in and instructions.
If you are interested in attending, please email McKenzi Waliczek at mwaliczek@detroitriver.org for the registration link.
Volunteer Information
Volunteers are ambassadors for the Water Festival. They play a critical role in guiding each class to their presentation site, assisting with set-up, parking, and other logistics before, during, and after the event.
Volunteers should plan to arrive at 8:30 am at the visitors center at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge in Trenton. Coffee and snacks will be provided. There will be a 9:00 am orientation the morning of the Water Festival to familiarize volunteers with their role, the festival space, and presentation locations.
Each volunteer will also receive a boxed lunch, lanyard / name tag, and a Water Festival T-shirt. Free parking is available, carpooling is encouraged. SMART Bus Line 160 drops off just outside the visitors center.
Presenter Information
Each presenter will share three to four, 25 minute water-themed based, hands-on presentations. Classes will rotate in groups of 30 students between presentation stations. Presenters will receive coffee, a light breakfast, lunch, and a Water Festival T-shirt upon Registration.
We ask that you arrive by 9:00 am for check-in, setup and instructions.
2024 Spring Detroit River Water Festival was made possible through the following partnerships:
Alliance of Downriver Watersheds
Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge
Friends of the Detroit River
Huron River Watershed Council
International Wildlife Refuge Alliance
Michigan Sea Grant
Oakland County Water Resources Commissioners Office
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Wayne County Parks
Wayne County Department of Public Services
