Floating Classroom
The Longview, our new floating classroom, is enhancing our environmental education program, connecting more students with the river, and reinforcing our vision of a fully healthy river supporting thriving communities.
For over 15 years, JRA has provided high-quality, engaging environmental education programs, which bring environmental literacy concepts out of the classroom, and onto the James River through a variety of experiences that are accessible for students at all learning levels. In support of Virginia’s Environmental Education goal, JRA strives for every student in the James River watershed to have three meaningful river-based experiences before they graduate.
Interested in scheduling School trips? Fill out the application.
Our Commitment to Environmental Education
Environmental education is a top priority for JRA. Annually, JRA engages more than 21,000 students with hands-on environmental education experiences. Our programs:
- Build appreciation for the James and create a lifelong understanding of the river.
- Get youth outside, helping address physical, mental and social challenges.
- Engage school systems throughout the watershed to provide opportunities that would otherwise not be available to them, including interactive programs on the water, a leadership program for high school students, and week-long paddling expeditions during the summer.
The Longview is a Coast Guard certified vessel that provides a universally accessible teaching platform. This new boat adds to our existing floating classroom, The Spirit of the James, and allows JRA to continue to grow its environmental education program to meet the different needs of area students and school systems.
It also:
- Serves schools from the head of tide in Richmond to the mouth of the James River at the Chesapeake Bay, providing flexibility for education program activities and topics, and where students board which reduces required travel time for school groups.
- Accommodates up to nearly 30 students which expands the number of students that can be educated in one day.
- Enables JRA to engage an additional 1,800 students per year in the region with the James River and environmental education.
Key Features of the Longview
The floating classroom also easily facilitates educational experiences:
- There is a large open work area that can be customized with seating and flat surfaces required for students, teachers and instructors to conduct hands-on fieldwork and discovery.
- It is steady and navigable in either shallow water or rougher deeper water like the conditions encountered where the James River flows into the Chesapeake Bay.
- Meet requirements for accessibility, storage, functionality, utility and safety.
- Is equipped with the latest technology to navigate, monitor water quality, scan the river bottom and more.
- Has a cruising speed that ensures multiple jurisdictions can be served on consecutive days.
- Is staffed by a licensed captain who operates the boat with a trained environmental educator to conduct the expanded programs.
