by Julie Lineback
Leonardo DaVinci once referred to water as the driving force of all nature. He wasn’t far from the truth. Humans are more than 60 percent water. About 71 percent of the Earth's surface is water-covered. And whether referring to a person, animal, or plant, water is necessary for life. Professionals who advocate for and educate about water resources are known as riverkeepers.
Photos courtesy of Chattahoochee Riverkeepers
The University of West Georgia’s College of Education recently hosted the Chattahoochee Riverkeepers (CRK) in an information session held for teachers and education majors. For over 20 years, CRK has invited over 40,000 students and educators aboard their floating classroom on Lake Lanier. In September, a new vessel launched on West Point Lake in LaGrange.
“Just as we are committed to the strong advocates, policy issues, and legal issues, we know that our young people really need to begin to understand this amazing substance,” said Sally Bethea, founding director and riverkeeper of CFK.
The program engages students of all ages in a variety of hands-on activities that highlight the challenges facing the lake, a source of drinking water and recreation.
“One of our activities is ‘All the Water in the World,’” continued CRK’s Middle Chattahoochee Outreach Manager Henry Jacobs. “You start with this gallon jug of water and you eventually get down to two drops of water, which represents all the fresh water we have in our rivers and lakes. So right off the bat we give kids a sense of why it’s necessary to protect and preserve the water resources that we have.”
Following the activity, the 42-foot pontoon boat christened “Miss Sally” makes its way to the water intake for the city of LaGrange where the children learn that the same water they are floating in has the potential to be in their homes. While plants and animals depend on the lakes and rivers, the water can be cleaned and processed and then used for showering, cooking, or drinking.
After casting a net and pulling up various organisms from the water, like plankton, the students use testing kits and microscope to examine their findings.
“They wear little glasses and feel really excited and empowered,” said Henry. “They realize that there are multiple things moving around in the water, which is good for the habitat. It’s one of those things where two or three in a class of 30 have that ‘a ha’ moment. We hope that of every group we take out it clicks for a couple of them.”
All programs onboard adhere to Georgia’s Performance Standards and Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT). The boat will operate through the middle of November and start back again around the end of February or early March. For more information about CRK and its floating classroom curriculum, visit www.chattahoochee.org.
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