[by Jane Ford, UVa News Services]

The water of the Elizabeth River sparkled like a jewel in the sunlight Monday as a crowd gathered at Portsmouth's High Street Ferry Landing.

Dignitaries, supporters and friends had their eyes focused on a brighter jewel, though: the Learning Barge, a floating environmental wetlands classroom.

All were gathered to celebrate the christening of the 120-foot vessel, designed and built by University of Virginia faculty and students in collaboration with the nonprofit Elizabeth River Project and support from more than 50 sponsors.

The goal of the floating classroom is to teach students of all ages how to steward the river and its resources, with the goal of making it swimmable and fishable by 2020. The Elizabeth River is one of the most polluted rivers on the Chesapeake Bay.

Architecture School associate professor Phoebe Crisman conceived of the project in 2005 while working on an environmental cleanup project on the river.

"It has a series of learning environments," she said. "It's built on a barge, which travels from place to place along the Elizabeth, and also potentially other rivers, teaching children and the public about wetlands, about restoration and about green energy systems. The barge is completely off the grid, so we generate our own power, collect rainwater and treat that water onboard."

Marjorie Mayfield Jackson, executive director of the Elizabeth River Project, hailed the University's involvement.

"The partnership between The Elizabeth River Project as a local nonprofit and the University of Virginia, which is some distance away in the mountains – not even on this river – is a powerful statement that the University is looking beyond the ivory tower, so to speak, and seeing the needs of the state, the needs of the region and making the commitment – quite a considerable commitment – to travel to the need and invent the solution that will make a difference," she said.

From the steps for children – up to 60 at a time – to sit on and hear stories about the river, to pumping water into planters of grass wetlands to learn about ways to remove pollutants, to compost toilets and sun-powered lights, every aspect of the design was conceived with education in mind.

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