Research and Education

Living Classroom

The Oxbow is a 1,600-acre outdoor classroom where the Great Miami River meets the Ohio. We welcome K-12 field trips led by Oxbow naturalists, and college and university research, from cataloging migratory species to studying wetland soils and water. Teachers and professors: tell us what your students would like to explore and we will help you plan it.

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Cattails and tall grasses growing in a vernal pool at the edge of the woods

Educator Resources

Access curated curricula, field guides, and digital materials focused on Indiana biodiversity and river flyways.

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Education Grants

Apply for funding designed to cover school bus transportation costs, research equipment, and student project supplies. Grants of up to $1,000 are awarded twice a year to K-12 and college educators.

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A group of walkers gathered on a gravel trail listening to a guide

Education Scholarships

Oxbow, Inc. awards education scholarships to students at one or two local schools; students at other schools are not eligible. If you are a student, please ask your school guidance counselor whether your school takes part and how to apply.

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A hand holding a monarch butterfly with a small tracking tag on its wing

iNaturalist

Help us document life at the Oxbow. Photograph a plant, insect, bird or other animal on the preserve and add it to the Oxbow, Inc. Biodiversity project on iNaturalist. Every observation adds to the record of what lives here.

Join the iNaturalist project

A great blue heron flying low over misty water

eBird

Birding at the Oxbow? Log your checklist at the Oxbow Nature Conservancy hotspot on eBird, and check recent sightings before you visit. Your counts join a worldwide dataset that researchers use to track bird populations.

View the eBird hotspot

Upcoming Events

Walks, work days and talks. Most are free.

Oxbow Events

The full calendar, with registration links where they exist.

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October 3

Birding Man Festival

Live music, guided bird walks, workshops, a bird of prey show, local food and vendors, and an afternoon of birding with Oxbow, Inc. and frie...

October 10

October Big Day – Bird Walk

Celebrate fall migration at the Oxbow Nature Conservancy while contributing to a global day of citizen science.

October 13

Tuesday Night Talks: Archaeology of the Oxbow

Archaeologists Rachel Sharkey and Louis Herzner on the archaeological resources documented at the Oxbow Nature Conservancy.

October 17

October Native Planting

A morning of planting native forbs and shrubs to restore wood duck habitat. Free.

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Help protect what matters

Become a member and support the Oxbow. Get access to exclusive newsletters, events, and more.

Become a member

Oxbow, Inc. is a nonprofit organization based in Lawrenceburg, Indiana focused on preserving and protecting a wetlands known as the Oxbow, a staging area for the seasonal migrations of waterfowl at the confluence of the Great Miami and Ohio rivers.