Water Alliance for Vital Eco-Systems

WAVES

“Kids in Creek Program”

WAVES is a team of natural science educators that is committed to developing a

series of field based natural science workshops for young people and their

parents.  Through making the natural sciences more accessible to inquisitive

minds, we strive to instill a sense of responsibility for preserving the natural

foundations of life on earth – our soil, water and our air. WAVES was established

in 2001.

WAVES currently offers the following “Kids in Creek” Programs.

Stream Ecology

Watch the crayfish backing back! Join us for an exciting day of exploration in our

local creeks.  With our nets, we will be collecting and identifying aquatic insects (macroinvertebrates).  As they are sensitive to their environment and a critical

part of the aquatic food web, macroinvertebrates are used world wide as

indicators of water quality. In a scavenger hunt using Polaroid cameras we will

investigate the habitat of the stream and learn the relationship between the land

and the health of the aquatic life.  Participants will take home equipment and the

knowledge to do their own backyard stream investigations. (Integrated with

Indiana Academic Standards)

GO FISHIN

In a laughter and fun filled day of catch and release fishing, participants will learn fish anatomy, angling skills and outdoor ethics.  Fishing rods, reels and bait will be provided.  At the end of the day, we will grill out and swap fishing tales.

MAP & COMPASS

Waves collaborated with Orienteering professionals to chart and create an Orienteering map of Gladys Russell Nature Preserve in Dearborn County. Using this map, True North and WAVES presented a Navigation Treasure Hunt. In Map & Compass, parent/youth teams learn primary navigational principles such as keeping the map oriented with the north arrow and reading map symbols, legends and keys. Then they take these newfound skills into the field to navigate through the park to checkpoints on their map.  As they go collecting clues to discovering the key to the treasure trove. The special skills of navigation utilize all the senses and draws on the sciences of math, geology and geography. It is a fun way to experience group learning and conflict resolution while acquiring the lifetime skill of navigation. (Integrated with Indiana Academic Standards)

FISH ART

Using and ancient Japanese art form Gyotaku, we will study fish structure.  In ancient Japan, the fisherman would immortalize a prize catch by making an ink print of the fish onto rice paper. Using rubber replicas of native fish species and handmade mulberry paper we will create a unique work of art.

Contact Info:

Kids in Creek

Cynthia Merrill

kidsincreek@gmail.com