Shelbyville Times-Gazette: Local News: Students learn about Duck River's importance (10/07/09)

Doug Murphy, director of the Duck River Agency, gives an education to Bedford County fifth graders about the importance of water conservation during Tuesday's fourth annual Duck Riverfest.
(T-G Photo by Brian Mosely) [Order this photo]

Despite dreary skies and threat of rain Tuesday, fifth graders from across the county paid a visit to the Duck River to learn its importance.

Duck River Watershed Education Committee kicked off its fourth annual Duck RiverFest at the Greenway behind the Shelbyville power plant with various displays and activities.

This just isn't a day outside the classroom for the nearly 600 students but part of their curriculum, according to Wayne Bomar of the Education Committee.

Every 10 minutes, an air horn would sound and students moved to the next station to absorb a new lesson.

For example, students would spend time on the topic of water chemistry before moving on to listen to personnel from the Shelbyville water and sewer treatment plants explain their jobs.

Other topics covered Tuesday included how vital the Duck River mussel is to the river's ecosystem, what a watershed is, the impact of geology, floods and drought, as well as endangered species, water safety and conservation.

A member of each class kept busy taking photos to record their trip to the Duck River. Those images are to become part of a class project on what they learned.

Each class's report can be in the form of a scrapbook or something done on a computer. The projects will be judged by the Education Committee, which will award a top prize of $100 to be used toward a pizza party for the kids.

Participants in this year's event were Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Tennessee Nature Conservancy, National Resource Conservation Service, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tennessee Scenic Rivers, Tennessee Valley Authority, Bedford County Emergency Management Agency and Duck River Agency.

Duck River Watershed Education Committee is also currently working toward becoming a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and 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.