Bay Backpack

REINS participants and their mentors use horses and ponies to learn about their connection to the Chesapeake Bay.

The Riders in the Environment Improving Native Shorelines or REINS project, serves students 7 – 21 years of age in public schools on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  The program is funded through the Maryland DNR Aquatic Resources Education Grants Program.

The focus is to provide a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) which includes equitherapy, aquatic studies, and action projects to engage developmentally disabled students in the investigation of ponds and streams connected to the Choptank River.

The project increases student knowledge of aquatic resources, identifies personal connections to water, and determines actions which are appropriate and helpful to waterways at the study site. The student action plans, which include a rain garden and native plantings, enhance the property’s natural qualities and protect the aquatic environment adjacent to the farm.

Students use basic ecological equipment and materials, enjoy eco-art projects, learn to identify wetland plants and animals at the farm, and record findings in a naturalist journal. Because they are learning through equine-assisted strategies, students also begin to comprehend the connection between horses (and other livestock) and the health of their local waterways.

Farm staff provides equitherapy to complement the aquatic studies, which are taught by educators and other trained volunteers. To accomplish this, students learn in the classroom (barn) and on the trail (by the pond and stream areas). They are responsible for keeping track of and caring for their own saddle bags, which contain their “water study kits”. Students are provided with strict adult supervision during all lessons. Service learning hours can be earned in two ways – peer mentors will earn credits for assisting their “buddies” in the lessons, and the disabled riders will earn hours for working on the action projects.

The action component of the project gives meaning to students and helps them comprehend their roles in becoming valuable stewards of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Specifically, students work side by side with experts and peer mentors to help design and maintain a rain garden and native plantings garden. In addition, students determine ways to reduce the impact of livestock waste on their local waterways, and determine ways to reduce water pollution which may affect animal health.

For more information visit Timber Grove Farm or contact LeeAnn Hutchison at lhutchison@msde.state.md.us.