Carrboro's Ecological Address

My hands, stained orange from the Kool-Aid powder I used to demonstrate the effects of pesticides, are pointing to a muddy lake in "Cluelessville," the miniature model town. The children surrounding the model represent rain clouds. Excitedly, they use spray bottles to soak the town. We all watch the orange and brown sludge make its way through the town’s creeks and into the muddy lake. It's a powerful visual demonstrating what a watershed is.

I'm volunteering at the Haw River Learning Celebration. We are teaching children who live in the Haw River Watershed about how and why we should care for it. My home town of Saxapahaw, which sits along the Haw, plays host to the second week of the program. Fourth grade students in buses from all around the watershed, including Carrboro some years, come each morning to the riverbank to explore the Haw and all her creatures. Throughout the day, volunteers of all ages help the students learn all about the ecosystem around and in the water. 

I've grown up living by and loving the Haw River and have participated in the Haw River Learning Celebration since before I could walk. I remember fourth graders being shocked when I could name seven different kinds of macroinvertebrates that live under rocks in the water! Leading a group of kids through the learning stations or teaching a station like the "Cluelessville" watershed demo are ways that I can give back to the river that supports us all. There are plenty of other ways to advocate for the health of the Haw.

The Haw River Assembly, which hosts the Learning Celebration, was founded in 1982. It is an organization that protects the Haw River by protecting water quality with local government, picking up trash along the river’s banks, monitoring stream quality through citizen science, and suing polluting companies. The founders of the organization initially started it when the state decided to make Jordan Lake for drinking water. People rallied together to fight that decision, and though they were unsuccessful, a larger movement arose, organizing the community to be a voice for the Haw and the communities that surround it.

Pittsboro-based storyteller and environmental educator Louise Kessel proposed the idea of the Haw River Learning Celebration to the Haw River Assembly in 1989. That same year, Louise and a group of volunteers successfully ran the program for the first time. Now, 37 years later, around 50,000 children have attended.

This year’s program begins in only a couple weeks. Current Learning Celebration Coordinator Hannah Wellbourne-Lewis says, “The Learning Celebration is magical because it allows children to develop a sense of place by learning about their watershed, while also fostering nature connectedness. Children spend about seven hours a day on screens, but only around ten minutes outside. The Learning Celebration provides an introduction to exploring wildlife, discovering our watershed, and connecting with the nature around them.”

If you're wondering why Carrboro residents, who don't live beside the river, should care about its water quality, then I want to point you to Tom's Creek, Morgan Creek, Cane Creek, Troublesome Creek, and Terrels Creek, all of which flow through Carrboro’s backyards and into the Haw, which in turn flows into Jordan Lake: the drinking water for more than 300,000 residents downstream. The way we treat the river upstream has a huge impact on those in Pittsboro, Bynum, Saxapahaw, Fayetteville, Wilmington, and more. The mighty Haw, once a river so polluted it was pronounced dead, now has water quality better than ever before, with thriving biodiversity.

At fourteen years of age, I feel lucky to be surrounded by a community of all ages that is united in protecting the natural world and each other. I'm glad I have the opportunity to volunteer with the Learning Celebration and be part of that community. As Wellborn-Lewis says, “Whether they have been volunteering with us since 1990 or are joining us for the first time, they dedicate their time because they believe in a future where generations of people can love, appreciate, and care for the world around them."

Would you like to join our cause? Go to hawriver.org to find out more about volunteering. This year’s Learning Celebration takes place in Bynum (Sep. 20-25), in Saxapahaw (Sep. 27- Oct. 2), and in Guilrock (Oct. 4-9).