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Don't forget to sample your stream during July!
When we ask Kentucky Watershed Watch volunteers what motivates them to protect our waterways, the most common response is deeply personal: "my kids," "my grandkids," or simply "future generations." This desire to leave behind a healthier planet is a driving force for environmental activism, and the best way to sustain this movement is by engaging youth in conservation early on. Children are naturally inquisitive, and when we give them the tools to explore, they often end up teaching us a thing or two.
Summer camps and nature programming offer the perfect gateway for youth to connect with the environment while having fun. Across the state, several of our support hubs provide exceptional summer opportunities—and a few even integrate official Kentucky Watershed Watch sampling methods directly into their curriculum! Below, read more about how organizations like New Pioneers in Springfield and Red Oaks Forest School (serving central and eastern Kentucky) are inspiring the next generation of watershed stewards.
From Campers to Stewards: Inspiring the Next Generation of Water Protectors
By Ivoree Sullenbarger
Did you know that just one week can spark a lifelong passion for protecting our planet? At “Where the Wild Things Are” Day Camp, New Pioneers for a Sustainable Future welcomed 50 campers to the Loretto Motherhouse Property for an immersive, nature-based experience that laid the groundwork for the next generation of environmental stewards.
During this week of education, exploration, and service, campers immersed themselves in diverse habitats each day, including the fan-favorite wetlands and waterways day!
This day featured an engaging array of games, crafts, discussions, and investigations to guide campers in growing their care and curiosity for our local water resources, including using Kentucky Watershed Watch’s biological assessment methods to analyze stream health.
This experience truly sparked joy as campers discovered water striders, salamanders, crayfish, and more, determining a healthy stream and creating happy campers!
The true impact of these lessons, however, reached far beyond our camp boundaries. Parents of campers shared that their children were eagerly teaching them about buffer zones and creek health in the days and weeks following camp, true evidence of the “ripple effects” of youth education into families, schools, and communities.
Hearing that these concepts stuck so deeply that campers brought the conversations home is the ultimate proof of this program’s success. Young minds aren’t just absorbing the knowledge — they are already actively sharing it!
Incorporating water quality concepts into youth education does more than just fill a summer day; it instills a foundational understanding that human choices have real impacts on our shared resources. When children learn to value their local watersheds at a young age, that awareness grows with them.
By investing in youth education today, we are ensuring a cleaner, safer, healthier, and more accessible future for our local water resources, led by informed and passionate community members!
Ivoree Sullenbarger is the Community Educator with New Pioneers for a Sustainable Future, a non-profit organization in Springfield, KY, working to promote sustainability in rural communities through education, demonstration, and advocacy efforts. Learn more at newpioneers.org.
Training Young Water Testers at Red Oaks Forest School
By Chris Karounos
At Red Oaks Forest School, students Charli and Braxdon practiced Kentucky Watershed Watch sampling techniques while exploring what water conductivity can tell us about stream health. After testing their local stream, Charli interpreted the low conductivity reading: “We got a low number. That means it’s clean for the fish. That’s why fishes live here.”
The students then tested a separate water sample representing a simulated salt-brine spill from an oil operation, similar to water pollution found around the Red River Gorge. When the meter reached 1,670 microsiemens per centimeter (µS/cm), Charli explained, “That number is very high, so it means the water is dirty. We want to keep that out of the water so it doesn’t kill the fish, frogs, and turtles that live here.” Then her curiosity took the investigation even further: "Would it kill a shark?".
Through hands-on, inquiry-based learning, Red Oaks Forest School helps children build a personal connection to Kentucky’s forests, streams, and wildlife
Chris Karounos is an assistant teacher with Red Oaks Forest School, a non-profit nature and arts organization with a mission to “foster a deep and lasting connection to nature and community through exploration, education, and play”. Learn more about Red Oaks at redoaksforestschool.org.
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