The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠), a division of Lewis and Clark Community College, is dedicated to the study of great river systems and the communities that use them. The center aspires to be a leader in scholarly research, education, and outreach related to the interconnectedness of large rivers, their floodplains, watersheds, and their associated communities. NGRREC℠ was founded in 2002 through a collaborative partnership between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Illinois Natural History Survey and Lewis and Clark Community College.

Recent Posts

NGRREC Invites Community to Attend Star Wars Themed STREAM Series Event

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is inviting the community to attend an upcoming October STREAM Series event...

Monitor a Stream with Illinois RiverWatch this Fall

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is encouraging community members to attend an Illinois RiverWatch Mentoring...

NGRREC Wetlands Collaborative Celebrates Funding Success

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is celebrating the success of the NGRREC Wetlands Collaborative in...

NGRREC Jolena Pang Named Among Top 20 Professionals Under 40 for 2024

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is celebrating Environmental Educator Jolena Pang, recently selected as one...

NGRREC Presents Annual NSF REU Symposium with SIUE

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) invites the community to the annual NSF REU Symposium, which will be held...

NGRREC Receives 8k Grant from Bayer Fund for Annual Water Festival

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) has been awarded a grant from Bayer Fund, a philanthropic arm of Bayer in...

NGRREC Receives $10k Grant from Enbridge for Annual Water Festival

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRRECsm) has been awarded an Enbridge Fueling Futures grant to increase water literacy in...

NGRREC Presents Mississippi and The Mac with the Macoupin Art Collective

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) presents “Mississippi & The Mac,” their newest STREAM...

National Great Rivers Research and Education Center Awarded American Water Charitable Foundation 2024 Water and Environment Grant

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRRECsm℠) has been awarded an American Water Charitable Foundation 2024 Water and...

2024 NGRREC STREAM Series Presents FrogWatch USA Training

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is offering citizen training to help locals monitor frog populations by...

RiverWatch Volunteers Monitor Stream Health Across Illinois

Volunteers across the state collect stream quality data on their local streams with the Illinois RiverWatch Network.

NGRREC Invites Community to Opening Night of World Water Day Photo Exhibit

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is celebrating opening night for its World Water Day Photo Contest Exhibit...

NGRREC Announces Winners for World Water Day Photo Contest

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is announcing the winners of its inaugural World Water Day photography...

Drink For a Cause at Old Bakery Beer Company to Benefit NGRREC

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is the featured organization for Old Bakery Beer Company’s (OBB)...

Submissions Open for NGRREC World Water Day Photo Contest

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) continues to welcome submissions for its World Water Day Photo Contest.

NGRREC Presents New Documentary about the Bird voiced Treefrog

NGRREC, in collaboration with Route 3 Films, announces the premiere of their new documentary, “The Call of the Swamp: Investigating the...

RiverWatch Seeks Winter Volunteers to Study Road Salt Impact

Winter is quickly approaching, and Illinois RiverWatch is preparing to train community members to monitor chloride levels in local rivers, ponds,...

Submissions Open for NGRREC’s World Water Day Photo Contest

Photographers young and old are invited to join the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center’s (NGRRECsm) World Water Day Photo...

NGRREC October Neighbor Night is All About Bats

Welcome in the spooky season by learning all about bats with biologist and bat researcher Brittany Rogness at the National Great Rivers Research...

Record Number of Students Participate in 21st Annual Water Festival

More than 900 fifth graders and their instructors participated in the 21st Annual National Great Rivers Research and Education Center...

Dip Your Toes into the World of Citizen Science at Upcoming Mentoring Events

Learn what it takes to monitor a stream as an Illinois RiverWatch volunteer at an upcoming mentoring event this fall.

September Neighbor Night: Celebrating 21 years of Water Festival

The upcoming September Neighbor Night at the National Great River Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) will celebrate 21 years of Water...

Call for stories and pictures from the Great Flood of 1993

The next National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRRECsm) newsletter will be a special edition featuring a collection of personal...

NGRREC Awarded American Water Charitable Foundation 2023 Water and Environment Grant

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) announced this week that it is the recipient of an American Water...

Donors Needed for 21st Annual NGRREC, Lewis and Clark Water Festival

Lewis and Clark Community College and its National Great Rivers Research and Education Center will host the 21st Annual Water Festival, Sept. 29.