It requires getting a little wet, but that’s all part of the fun when the Haywood Waterways Association and Haywood County Schools hold the annual Kids in the Creek program.

The event is for Haywood County eighth graders and will be held on the Pigeon River in Canton Sept. 19, 21 and 22. Instructors focus on water quality and the issues that affect our ability to swim, fish and drink the water from our rivers and streams.

Students rotate through four stations: fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, water chemistry and the Enviroscape watershed model. The students, and their teachers, learn about water pollution and the ecological interactions occurring within a watershed.

The public is welcome to attend the event, held at the Canton Recreation Park. Two sessions are held each day, 9 a.m. to 11:10 am, and 12:00 p.m. to 2:10 p.m.

This is the 14th year Haywood Waterways and Haywood County Schools have hosted Kids in the Creek. Over its history, more than 9,000 students have been through the program.

Other sponsors include the Pigeon River Fund, Haywood Soil and Water Conservation District, the towns of Canton, Clyde and Waynesville, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, Evergreen Packaging Group, Tennessee Valley Authority, Trout Unlimited (Cataloochee Chapter), University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Tenn., and Best Buy.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.haywoodwaterways.org for more information and to watch a video of Kids in the Creek.