WaterFest 2011 a fun, free-flowing success

Water, water, everywhere and every drop is precious. In many parts of the world, it’s almost worth its weight in gold. Yet, sometimes we take it all for granted.

That’s why WaterFest was created.

For the past ten years, the Water Quality Forum and Ijams, have hosted WaterFest at the nature center. This year over 800 students, 150 teachers and chaperones and roughly 100 volunteers and vendors took part in the daylong educational field day.

All of the activities and booths were built around raising water quality awareness, the importance of healthy watersheds, the creatures that live in wetlands and the importance of recycling and keeping trash out of our creeks and rivers. The learning sessions are designed to be both fun and educational.

Hats off to the Water Quality Forum, Water Resources Research Center, CAC AmeriCorps and the Ijams education staff: Peg, Kara, Sarah, Jennifer, Emily and Sabrina for a job well done. i.e. it came off smooth and without a hitch, as free-fowing as a mountain stream

Photos, starting from the top:

1) Ijams educator Kara Remington with WaterFest poetry contest winners, 2) Kara with WaterFest art contest winners, 3) Proving that you do not have to spend $300 on a Xbox 360, students playing with giant ball made entirely of recycled plastic, 4) Ijams educator Sabrina DeVault and students look at small aquatic animals

- Text and photos by Stephen Lyn Bales