Huff Run to host Awareness Days in May for local schools

The Huff Run Watershed Restoration Partnership (HRWRP) will host four separate Awareness Day field trips this May, where about 400 students from five different schools will get to experience Huff Run: an area impacted heavily by acid mine drainage pollution. They will have the opportunity to conduct water quality tests, visit a restoration site and collect aquatic bugs and fish. This has been an annual program at Huff Run for more than 13 years. The first field trip is Friday, May 6, with Sherrodsville and Bowerston elementary schools participating. The second field trip is May 13, with Carrollton’s Bell-Herron Middle School seventh-graders participating. The third field trip is May 20 with Sandy Valley’s middle school participating. The fourth is May 26 with Tusky Valley’s middle school in attendance. Huff Run’s AmeriCorps member, Emily Ankney, has gone into all five schools to teach for at least one day to give the students an introduction on Huff Run and to get them excited about the field trip.Volunteers from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio EPA, Carroll County Soil and Water Office, Tuscarawas County Health Department, Yellow Creek Partnership, Rural Action, Local Township Trustees, and HRWRP members will be helping with the Awareness Days. Funding for Awareness Day this year comes from the Muskingum Watershed Conservation District’s Partners in Watershed Management Grant. Donations were made to sponsor volunteer lunches for each field trip. Huff Run Watershed Restoration Partnership is a nonprofit citizens group committed to restoring the Huff Run Watershed by improving water quality and enhancing wildlife habitat, through community support and involvement. The partnership understands the importance of educating our youth about the environment so that future generations will be able to live in a sustainable manner in their watersheds. To help with this event or to learn more, contact Ankney at emilya@ruralaction.org or visit http://www.huffrun.org for more information.