07/08/2026
We are so thankful for all the love and support from our friends at Racine Community Foundation 🥹.
For nearly two decades, the Root River Environmental Education Community Center gave Racine something rare - a front door to the river running right through our city. Over the years, 42,000 visitors came through, including 22,000 Racine Unified Schools students and roughly 9,000 paddlers who dipped a boat into the water for the very first time.
That work built something that doesn't disappear: a community that knows the Root River is theirs to explore, protect, and love.
While the REC's building has closed its doors, the river is still here, and so are the ways to get out on it. River Bend Nature Center, just five minutes from downtown Racine, carries that mission forward with boat rentals, paddling lessons, guided hikes, and summer camps - everything a family or a curious first-timer might be looking for. The people behind the REC are already working alongside River Bend to keep the connection between our community and the river strong.
As geoscientist and REC co-founder John Skalbeck put it, this is "not the end at all."
We're grateful to have supported the Root River REC and the belief at its heart - that spending time in nature is how we come to care for it. That belief is alive and well in Racine County, and we're delighted to continue our support of this programming through River Bend Nature Center. Get on out there - the river is waiting!
