Riverbend Partners with National Geographic to Inspire Philadelphia-area Middle and High School Students to Learn What it Means to be an Explorer, and Tackle Local Environmental Issues

Riverbend Partners with National Geographic to Inspire Philadelphia-area Middle and High School Students to Learn What it Means to be an Explorer, and Tackle Local Environmental Issues

January 20th, 2026

In fall 2024, Riverbend partnered with the nonprofit National Geographic to drive engagement from underrepresented student groups to their Slingshot Challenge– an annual competition that asks students 13-18 years old to identify a local environmental issue, and develop a possible solution. Slingshot Challenge winners are eligible for up to $10,000 in funding towards their project. 

Through this partnership, educators at Riverbend were able to reach six schools across the School District of Philadelphia, Norristown Area School District, and Upper Darby School District, engaging a total of 300 students.

Riverbend designed a program to engage students in 4 steps:

• Getting Their Attention 
• Inspiring Action 
• Mentor Participants 
• Celebrate

Getting Their Attention

The first step took place at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum. Students followed birder and photographer Troy Bynum on an exploration of the preserve, learning how to use their phones for citizen science. Troy explained cell-phone accessible photography techniques, and how to use INaturalist to identify and share wildlife observations.

Students then put their science skills in practice to quantify how much carbon is stored by trees at the refuge. Riverbend environmental educator Leila N’Diaye helped students talk through how trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and how they store it in their trunks. Students measured the height and circumference of several trees, calculated how many pounds of carbon dioxide each tree stored, and extrapolated those numbers to estimate carbon storage across the refuge. Using real data they collected themselves, students built a case for the vital ecosystem services trees provide.

Inspiring Action and Mentorship

The second step of the project happened back in the classroom. Students learned about the Slingshot Challenge, and were tasked with identifying environmental issues on various scales (global, national, state level, Philadelphia, school community, home neighborhood) that were important to them. Working in small groups, students brainstormed creative actions or solutions they could implement to address these challenges.

Students were then encouraged to expand on their classroom ideas by submitting entries to National Geographic’s official Slingshot Challenge. Riverbend educators supported participants by offering up to four one-on-one mentorship sessions, helping students refine their ideas and develop their final videos.

Celebrating Student Work

Finally, Riverbend hosted a virtual film festival in June 2025 to showcase all submissions that were created as a result of the Riverbend programming. Clips of several of these final videos can be seen in this video created about the project. 

Riverbend hopes to continue this partnership, and apply for funding from National Geographic to continue the program in the 2026-27 school year.