Duluth Seaway Port Authority Riverquest

ST. LOUIS RIVER QUEST ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

St. Louis River Quest is an educational, voluntarily staffed, not-for-profit organization operating under the auspices of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. Effective February 9, 2002, it was designated as a 501(c)(3) organization and therefore is exempt from federal and state income taxes.

Created in 1993, the program is designed to instill environmental stewardship in area sixth graders while helping them understand industrial, commercial and recreational activities in the St. Louis Harbor. The goal

Examples of learning stations:

The Duluth Seaway Port Authority’s station features an acrylic model of a laker that allows students to load ballast water and iron ore onto the vessel.

is to increase students’ awareness of how the harbor is used, why it is important to them, and how its unique environment must be protected.

Each year during a three-day period the program brings over 800 area sixth grade students on a harbor tour aboard the Vista Star. It turns the excursion vessel Vista Star into a floating classroom where students are toured through 10 learning stations designed to give them hands-on experiences about the commercial, industrial, environmental and recreational value of the Duluth-Superior Harbor. More than 6,400 students have participated in the program since its beginning in 1993.

Learning station lessons provided by the U.S. Coast Guard include spill response demonstrations and nautical knot knowledge.

Midwest Energy Resources Company’s station includes a working model of the state-of-the-art loading equipment at its facility in Superior.

Learning stations are also provided by:

City of Duluth – Care & Feeding of Your Sewer System

Como Lube & Supplies, Inc. – Water Quality Improvement

Duluth Power Squadron – Boating Safety

Environmental Protection Agency – How Use of Land Affects Water

Great Lakes Aquarium – Lake Superior, a Worldwide Freshwater Resource

Hallett Dock Company – Shipping Products to the World

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency – Where Water Ends Up

Minnesota Sea Grant – Aquatic Invasive Species Teaching Resources

Murphy Oil – Safe Vessel Fueling Methods

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Harbor Dev. Shipping & Great Lakes Water Levels

U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office – Rescue Demonstrations

Western Lake Superior Sanitary District – Household Hazardous Waste Disposal

Additional sponsors of the program include:

AGP Grain, Ltd.
Allouez Marine Supply
Cargill
Carlson & Kirwan, Inc.
Cutler-Magner Company
Duluth Convention and Visitors Bureau
Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center
Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Railroad
Enbridge Energy
Four Cedars Foundation
Fraser Shipyards, Inc.
Georgia-Pacific Corporation
Grandma’s Restaurants
Great Lakes Fleet, Inc.
Lafarge North America
Lake Superior Warehousing Co., Inc.
M&I First National Bank
Midwest Energy Resources Company
Minnesota Power
National Bank of Commerce
Peavey Grain Company
Raven & Associates
St. Lawrence Cement, Inc.
StoraEnso
W.P.&R.S. Mars Company
Zenith Management Company/Manley, Inc.

Raffle prizes from some of the companies listed above are distributed to the students as the Vista Star returns to the dock after each half-day cruise.

The Vista Fleet provides the excursion vessel Vista Star at a discounted price, and Bernick’s Pepsi-Cola provides refreshments for the children while onboard. The Duluth Police Reserve provides two uniformed officers per cruise to help with crowd control.

School participation is coordinated by the ISD #709. Schools scheduled to participate this year include Nettleton, North Shore, Lincoln Park, Proctor, Hermantown and Lowell.

The program highlights the St. Louis River estuary as a wonderful asset allowing the students to study water quality and the ways in which water affects our environment, and also the ways that their actions affect our water.

Contact:

Jerry Fryberger
River Quest Treasurer
c/o Hallett Dock Company
P.O. Box 16447
Duluth, MN 55816-0447
Phone: 218-628-2281