http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/streamside_3245.mp3
It's National Drinking Water Week, and, as part of this week, KSMU is featuring a series of stories on the Watershed Center at Valley Water Mill. Today, Michele Skalicky takes you to a place at the center where hands on learning takes place.
Alongside the Little Dry Sac, sit several stones from the Phoenix Quarry. They provide seating for students who come to the Watershed Center at Valley Water Mill to use as they're learning about water quality.
Loring Bullard, executive director of the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks, says they also make great tables.
The stream side learning station provides a place for students to learn about various aspects of water quality—from what creatures live in a stream to how to determine how healthy the waterway is. Bullard says one of the major benefits of the Watershed Center's streamside learning station is that it gets kids in the creek.
Kids from early grade school on up have used the stream side learning station so far. Bullard says 5th and 6th grade is when most student start studying earth science and learning about water quality and watersheds, so many of those who use the learning station are 5th thru 8th graders.
He says the site will see more use once the enter Watershed Center project is finished, but it's already being used by a lot of students.
Besides the Streamside Learning Station, there's also lakeside, wetland, forestry and spring learning stations at the site. To find out more about the Watershed Center at Valley Water Mill, go to watershedcenter.net.
For KSMU News, I'm Michele Skalicky.
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