HCWA celebrating 20th anniversary of Cubihatcha Kids
The Henry County Water Authority (HCWA) is celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the “Cubihatcha Kids” outdoor education program with two weeks of field trips to welcome every 3rd grader in Henry County Schools to the Cubihatcha Outdoor Education Center for activities applicable to their elementary school curricula.
HCWA staff, volunteers, and sponsors, are expecting approximately 3,000 or more 3rd graders and more than 100 teachers during the weeks before and after fall break for Henry County Schools. The “Cubihatcha Kids” will be on site at the Cubihatcha Center during the weeks of Sept. 11-15, and Sept. 25-29, when they will experience classes and activities in outdoor education. This is the 18th year the Authority has hosted these annual field trips for Henry County elementary school students at its Cubihatcha Center. (However, this is the 20th anniversary of the Program, since field trips were not held in 2020-2021, due to the pandemic.)
The “Cubihatcha Kids” field trips are organized by the Henry County Outdoor Education Partnership, a non-profit that includes the HCWA and Henry County Board of Education, among others. In addition, individuals and organizations support the mission of this non-profit by participating in the “Cubihatcha Kids” field trips as teaching faculty or sponsors.
The field trips to the Cubihatcha Center provide opportunities for experiential or “hands-on” learning for students through outdoor classes and activities that correlate with the third grade Georgia Standards for Excellence and Applied STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Curricula. In addition, the field trips encourage student appreciation of natural resources and awareness of the HCWA’s role in the community.
The “Cubihatcha Kids” will spend their designated day on the campus of the Cubihatcha Center participating in activities led by HCWA and Cubihatcha Center staff and other faculty, learning about topics such as: the Community Garden; Native Wildlife; Stormwater Education and Enviroscape; disposal of Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG), Native American Artifacts; etc.
The Cubihatcha Center was built to coincide with the HCWA’s wetlands mitigation plan, which accompanied the construction of its reservoir network. (The Authority owns and operates five drinking water reservoirs for its customers.) Shortly after the facility opened, the Cubihatcha Center staff began hosting field trips for Henry County students in 2003, and the Cubihatcha Center has grown to serve as the focal point of HCWA public education and outreach since.
The Cubihatcha Center consists of 1,000 acres of bottomland hardwood, forested wetlands and uplands, nature trails, outdoor classrooms, a community pavilion, the HCWA Reservoir and Land Management office, as well as avenues/areas for outdoor recreation.
To date, Authority officials estimate more than 50,000 “Cubihatcha Kids” from Henry County Schools have participated in these annual field trips since 2003. As a result, the HCWA has won the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) Public Education Program of the Year Award on three occasions, as well as GAWP Public Education Program Excellence Awards. In addition, the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District has awarded the HCWA and its Cubihatcha Center with the STREAM Award for Education and Outreach Program Excellence.
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Media Contact:
Dr. Chris Wood
770-757-1681 (phone)
chris@jwapr.com (email) or john.wood@gcsu.edu