HWA conducted its second Summer Camp for 30 Haywood County students graduating from the 5th and 6th grades. The goal was to raise awareness about our special water resources and the need to protect them. Students were encouraged to be clean water ambassadors and share what they learned with others.

The program was expanded this year and the number of students participating doubled. We added a field trip to a fish hatchery and a presentation by the Ingles Dietician about our body’s water needs and proper sanitation. The week also included an excellent presentation on the Earth’s water and its critters by Dave Dudek and field trips to the Waynesville Watershed and the Cradle of Forestry.

It was obvious the kids really enjoyed themselves and learned as they had fun. They even wrote their own newsletter to share their thoughts with HWA and their parents. Let’s hear what a few had to say.
“Haywood Waterways taught me that all Haywood County’s water starts here and flows out. So we are to blame if we have dirty water.”
“This week I learned that everyone does something to the water in some way, good or bad.”
“I learned how to tell if a creek is healthy based on the water bugs that live there. If you find a large amount of many different kinds of bugs then it is a healthy creek.”
“I learned that we can’t take water for granted. I learned about the water cycle and the watershed…”

The instructors for the camp are three Haywood County public school teachers: Tracy Fowler, Jane Markley and Angela May. This is an excerpt from Angela’s comments, “Most importantly I saw children that were good listeners and eager to learn. These children are our future. We want them to make us proud and take care of this planet Earth. I have confidence that these children will fight for what they know is right.”

We express our sincerest thanks to the children, their parents, our instructors and guest speakers for making the week so successful. We also send a special thank you to the Pigeon River Fund for the financial support that made this program possible.