At the end of September, The Bark House participated in a river sweep with the Toe River Valley Coalition and Mrs. Sirois 8th grade Science class.
Some of the things that the students discovered were:
- Whoever made kayaking “a thing” was pretty smart.
- “This” does not belong in the river.
- I got the hose.
- The water gets colder as you get older.
- What turbidity means.
- I never thought a guy that big could swim that well.
- I never knew that the rivers were this beautiful.
- I want to bring my family to do this next time.
- Who knew that doing something so important could be so much fun?
- If everyone knew about this, they would all want to come.
What I got out of the experience was deeply meaningful. Trash is my big thing. I can’t understand it at all; it seems so self-defeating. We do stream clean-ups in solidarity all the time.
To see 8th graders enlivened and appreciating the stream – to see the new discovery of something that is always near them every day of their lives, just overlooked – was energizing.
To see them perplexed and wondering how the trash got there, to see them wanting to clear the river of it – that was humbling and renewing.
I took so many photos that day watching the kids discover and play and listening to their revelations as we moved within the water. I discovered my own child-like voice whispering “again-again”.
As my son said – I can’t wait for the spring float.
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