Local Students Get Up-Close Look At Conservation In River Expedition
Posted
Tim Robertson-trobertson@timesuniononline.com
WINAMAC - Volunteers helped local students get their feet wet in efforts to preserve Indianaís river and forest ecosystems Thursday, at Tippecanoe River State Park.
The students, from Tippecanoe Valley and Triton high schools, along with other schools from the region, participated in the 14th annual Arrow Head Country River Expedition.
"This program was designed to give students a holistic view of a river and its watershed," said program volunteer Darci Zolman, of the Kosciusko County Soil and Water Conservation District.
The group of about 100 students spent the day paddling rafts down a stretch of the Tippecanoe River. "The Tippecanoe River is a great backdrop, due to its significance not only on the state level, but the national level as well," said Zolman. "It is consistently ranked as one of the nation's top ten rivers, based on its biodiversity."
Along the way, volunteer raft captains talked to students about the natural history of the river and how the health of the watershed impacts the health of the river. "Because of all the dredging and channelizing and drainage from ditches and tiles, water comes into this river in a lot different ways than it used to," Marshall County 4-H Educator Randy Dickson told students in his raft.
At several points, the students landed their rafts along the riverbank for activities and demonstrations by area experts aimed at educating them on topics such as watershed protection, responsible forestry, water quality and the inhabitants of the river ecosystem. The students waded into the river to catch specimens of the wildlife living in the water and testing the water's chemical and oxygen levels.
"We want students to understand that a river is a dynamic ecosystem, which can be impacted by how it is used, as well as, what happens in its watershed," said Zolman.
Mike Emenaker teaches a natural resources class at Triton High School. Emenaker has brought his students to the river expedition for the past 12 years. He said the trip is an important element of his class. "It ties in really well with the subject matter we cover," he said.
Emenaker said the active, hands-on encounter with nature makes a significant impression on his students. "The kids are excited because they're going to actually get to float the river," he said. "If you can't find a way to enjoy being in the outdoors, then you'll have no interest in preserving it. This trip gives the students a reference point of something real that they can remember."
The students seemed to agree. "I really liked rafting on the river," said TVHS student Jocelyn Noriega. "I learned a lot about the different species in the water and how they help purify the water. You learn more when you do hand-on things than when you just read it."
"It was hands-on and that was much better than just getting a lecture," said TVHS student Russ Yeiter.
Resource Conservation and Development Councilman Howard Conner, Winamac, has volunteered for the expedition since it began. "It's amazing to me how many students have never been on the river in any kind of a boat," Conner said. "Getting out there gives the students a good opportunity to see how the river flows and the different practices that help protect it."
"And hopefully they learn a little about what to do on land so we can preserve the rivers," said first-year volunteer RC&D Councilwoman Phyllis McGurk, Rochester.
TVHS Animal Science teacher Lisa Paxton said the expedition reinforces one of the main concepts she tries to instill in her students, responsibility. "We have an environmental obligation," Paxton said.
By the time the students dragged their rafts out of the river and sat down to eat lunch, some seemed to have gained a new sense of that obligation. "Protecting the river and the environment is just really important," said Yeiter, "because, if we don't, some things might become extinct."
After an interactive demonstration of how different types of pollution affect watersheds, Judy Buttice, of the Cass County SWCD, left the students with a challenge. "You're all stakeholders in this and everybody is responsible to keep the pollution under control," she said.
