The Friends of the River Foundation has partnered with Kansas Wesleyan University and Sacred Heart Jr/Sr High to encourage local students to engage in field studies in Saline County and along the Smoky Hill River.
Students participated in field work, gathering data and hands-on experience, the results of which are seven presentations at our 2026 Smoky Hill River Research & Education Symposium (SHRRES).
SHRRES will be held May 7, 2026, 6:30-8:15 pm in Peters Science Hall, room 229 on the Kansas Wesleyan University campus. There will be seven 15-minute presentations.
Some of the presentations include:
- The construction of a solar-powered LIDAR river depth monitoring system to collect depth information on the Smoky Hill River in Salina.
- How sunlight affects fish response to bait color.
- Fish sampling.
- River clean up
Presenters include:
- Annabelle Cacho (KWU)
- Zac Daley (KWU)
- David Green (Sacred Heart, Instructor)
- Nick Etheridge (KWU)
- Jack Hanson (KWU)
- Becca Kennon (KWU)
- Conner Kirby (KWU)Alan Morales (Sacred Heart)
- Kelsey Shields (KWU)
- Tyra Thompson (KWU)
- Sebastion Welter (KWU)
The community is invited to come support these students as they share their experiences and findings.
The Friends of the River Foundation is grateful to the Greater Salina Community Foundation for supporting student-driven science by jumpstarting SHRRES with a much-needed grant. SHRRES ran for two years, 2018-2019. With Covid-19 in 2020, this initiative was brought to a standstill.
This year, we are proud to re-lift this program, again providing area students with opportunities to learn in the field and present their findings in community.
