Students to gather at RiverFest

Fifth grade students from all over Bedford County will be gathering by the Duck River in less than two weeks to learn about the importance of their water source.

The fourth annual Duck RiverFest begins at the Duck River Greenway behind the Shelbyville power plant at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 6. In case of rain, the event will be held in the gym at the old Harris Middle School.

The event is put on by the Duck River Watershed Education Committee, according to member Helen Garner.

The committee was created in 2005 by the city of Shelbyville and has set out to improve the health of the Duck River, its tributaries and the entire watershed through continuing education and assisting all interested parties, whether they are schools, industries, businesses or environmental groups that are in the watershed.

More than 500 students from Community, Liberty, Cascade, and Thomas schools will arrive on a rotating basis and visit 12 stations, each with a topic about the importance of the river.

Part of curriculum

The day at the river isn't just a fun outing for the kids -- the program put together by the committee is actually part of the students' lesson plans, Garner explained.

"We are all about developing our natural resource education for youth," Garner said.

The subject of water chemistry will be discussed by a member of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and personnel from the Shelbyville water and sewer treatment plant will talk about their jobs.

Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency representatives will discuss the vital Duck River mussel, while the Tennessee Nature Conservancy answers the question "What is a watershed?"

Soils will be the topic for the National Resource Conservation Service and staff from the U.S. Geological Survey will discuss geology, floods and drought.

The subject of endangered species will be the subject for the Fish and Wildlife Service, water bugs are the topic for the Tennessee Scenic Rivers group and groundwater will be discussed by representatives of Tennessee Valley Authority.

As the kids wrap up their visits to the various stations, they will learn about river safety from the county's Emergency Management Agency and Doug Murphy of the Duck River Agency will speak on water conservation.

Each class will be given a disposable camera to record their trip to the Duck River and will later complete a project reflecting on the things they learned.

The finished product will then be turned over to the Education Committee to be judged.

Garner said the project can be in the form of a scrapbook or something done on a computer.

Winners of last year's contest were Stephanie Cameron's class at Liberty and Kelly Reason's class at Thomas. Both classes won $50 each for a pizza party, but this year a prize of $100 will go to a single class.

Looking at future

Garner also said that the Watershed Education Committee is currently working toward becoming a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization.

Non-profit status would allow the organization to apply for grants and seek donations. They have been operating under the umbrella of the Bedford County Arts Council, but the group has now been established long enough to be considered non-profit.

Garner said the group plans to build an environmental lab in the basement of the Fly Arts Center so students and others can learn more about the Duck River and its importance to the community.

Funds have already been received from Shelbyville Power, Water and Sewer and the committee has constructed a handicap ramp and entrance to the basement as well as some clean up work.

Chairs have already been donated, Garner said, and the plan is to continue to raise funds and eventually equip the room with microscopes, computers and projectors and "make it into a real community asset ... a real classroom setting."

After that is accomplished, Garner said the group wants to bring in other counties that are part of the Duck River watershed for participation.