HCWA welcoming 3,000-plus 3rd graders to Cubihatcha Center

HCWA welcoming 3,000-plus 3rd graders to Cubihatcha Center

The Henry County Water Authority (HCWA) is hosting all third-grade students in Henry County Schools for their annual "Cubihatcha Kids" field trips to the utility's Cubihatcha Outdoor Education Center in Locust Grove. This outdoor education program will be provided over the course of two weeks, with participants enjoying activities and classes that complement their elementary school curricula.

HCWA staff, volunteers, partners, and sponsors, are expecting more than 3,000 third 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. 9-13, and Sept. 23-27, for the 19th annual student field trips. The Authority began hosting these annual field trips to the Cubihatcha Center for Henry County elementary school students in 2003, missing only 2020-2021, when the field trips were cancelled 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. HCWA staff, volunteers and sponsors serve as teaching faculty during the two weeks of the third-grade field trips. In addition, the annual Cubihatcha Kids Fishing Day, which was held earlier this year on June 8, helped to raise money to support this signature programming of the Authority's Cubihatcha Center.

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 water cycle, farming, ecosystems, wildlife and habitats, stormwater pollution, environmental protection, indigenous people, and more.

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. Today, the Cubihatcha Center serves as the focal point of HCWA public education and outreach.

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 Programming Excellence.

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Media Contact:

Dr. Chris Wood

P: 770-757-1681

E: [email protected] or [email protected]

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