By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
Accompanied by a group of dedicated volunteers, fourth graders from cities and towns up and down the Haw River headed out into the woods and down to the river this month.
The Haw River Assembly’s Learning Celebration brings fourth-grade students from Orange, Durham, Alamance, Chatham and Guilford counties riverside for a day.
The program, which is in its 18th year, is broken into three week-long segments in different areas – Bynum, Saxpahaw and Guilrock – so that the children can visit the part of the river that runs through their backyards.
The Learning Celebration is completing its final segment this week. Chapel Hill-Carrboro fourth graders visited the river in Bynum during the program’s first week.
Aaakara Wiegand, coordinator of the program, said her main goal with the program was simply to “get kids out into the woods,†adding that while many of the students live near the forest surrounding the river, they’ve never been to it.
“The kids are totally excited by it,†Wiegand said. “It’s just a fun day.â€
The fourth graders certainly do seem to enjoy the field trip, which starts first thing in the morning and runs until after lunch.
Madeleine Page, a fourth grader at Seawell Elementary School, said she had never before been to the Haw River but wants to come back with her family.
“I want to go camping down here,†she said. “I really like climbing on the rocks.â€
The program focuses on a variety of activities, with different stations along the river. At one station, the children do nature art, while another is dedicated to hiking. Volunteers teach kids about water quality, watershed areas, pollution and pottery.
After visiting the different stations, the fourth graders regroup for lunch and a puppet show and concert before heading back to school.
“We try to have a very collective form of education that includes art and music,†said Wiegand. “It includes all levels of sensory.â€
One of the kids’ favorite stops is the stream stewardship station, which uses a model to teach kids about watershed areas and pollution.
Wendy Smith, a representative from the Town of Chapel Hill’s Stormwater Management Division, used food coloring, cocoa powder and sprinkles to show the kids how different types of pollution can get into rivers. The model depicts a small town with houses, farmland, roads and a river.
At the end of the demonstration, the students used spray bottles to simulate rain, and were surprised at the amount of pollution that ended up in the model’s river.
Student Emily Ball said she thought other people should see it.
“For some reason people think that polluting isn’t that bad, but they never knew how bad it was,†she said.
Wiegand said one of the great things about the program is not only that the kids get to learn about and appreciate the river, but that they want to learn how to protect it. One of the program’s goals, she said, was “to create stewards of the environment.â€
The kids also examine the life in the river with magnifying glasses and petri dishes at the stream watch station. While some are more interested in splashing in the water and playing on the rocks than looking for macro invertebrates, they all get to enjoy the river.
“I think it’s important to get the kids out on the water so they can appreciate it,†volunteer Lucas Obringer said. “Even if they don’t take home a solid fact … they appreciate it.â€
Obringer and other volunteers camped along the riverbanks in Bynum during the first week of the Learning Celebration. Volunteers set up camp by the river at each site. After the kids leave in the afternoon, they swim, canoe or do training activities.
Part of what makes the program special, Wiegand said, is that it is almost entirely volunteer run.
“Nobody here’s being paid to do it,†she said. “It makes the experience quite different, and I think the kids can really feel that.
“We get unique people each year, of all different ages and backgrounds.â€
Several volunteers are as young as the children participating in the program, while others are old enough to be their grandparents.
She added that all of the sites use solar power, composting toilets and water from the river: “It’s a very self-sustaining program.â€
The Learning Celebration does, however, always need more volunteers. About 30 are needed to run the program each day, so Wiegand spent about six months before the program recruiting from the watershed area.
She continues now spreading the word about the Learning Celebration and its volunteer opportunities.
“I think it’s a very unique experience,†she said.
Photos by Ken Moore