“Water Wednesday” lures kids and their families to fish for Creek Week
Published 12:10 am Friday, September 22, 2023
Families had some quality time together while fishing at City Park Lake for "Water Wednesday." Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
Assistant Public Works Director Michael Hanna said days like "Water Wednesday" are why the lake exists in the first place. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
Ducks Unlimited carefully let kids use tools to make homemade wood duck boxes. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
Storm E. Water is the Creek Week mascot. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
This catch basin is a visual representation of the harm getting objects in the drains causes. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
Rowan County Soil and Water Conservation District had several kinds of animal pelts and a stuffed wood duck for kids to see and feel. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
SALISBURY — Clean lakes, rivers, creeks and reservoirs each play a small role in Earth’s well-being, but if they are not properly cared for, it can slowly lead to an ecological catastrophe. To assist in educating residents and to share information on the benefits of keeping local waters safe, Rowan County has devoted the week of Sept. 16-23 for its fifth annual Creek Week.
Right in the middle of it, City Park Lake hosted “Water Wednesday” on Wednesday, where kids had the chance to fish for free with the help from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and learn from county and city organizations about nature and what they can do to maintain a healthy habitat for all living creatures.
On a gorgeous afternoon, kids took advantage of the fishing thanks to rods supplied by the commission. Casey Joubert is a fisheries biologist for the commission, whose main responsibility is conserving and managing the state’s wildlife. She says having this lake in an area like Rowan County lets people utilize the unique assets that are available to them.
“We want people outdoors, we want people enjoying the natural resources so that future generations care about these resources and know that they are out there. In addition to that, our work is funded by people buying fishing licenses and fishing gear and doing all of that, so that’s really an important part to keep people engaged with the resources,” Joubert said.
Sustainable Salisbury, Rowan County Soil and Water Conservation District, city of Salisbury Stormwater Services and Ducks Unlimited were present at the park to provide hands-on experiences and activities for a wide-eyed crowd of curious kids and a few adults. Public Works Technician Ben Parker, from stormwater services, had a model of a catch basin on an average street to show the dangers of getting dirt, leaves and grass into the water system and natural waters like streams and lakes.
“Only rain down the storm drain, that’s our biggest thing,” Parker said.
Representatives from soil and water and Ducks Unlimited had tactile ways of getting kids’ attention and telling them of the animals that rely on these bodies of water. Education Coordinator Kelli Isenhour from soil and water had beaver, muskrat, mink and otter pelts at her table for kids to touch and to expose themselves to what actually lives in these kind of ecosystems.
“The more you learn about something, the more you have an interest in it, and the more likely you are to try and take care of it,” Isenhour said.
Rowan County Ducks Unlimited demonstrated how to build wood duck boxes, which act as a structure for them to lay their eggs, with power tools. They even let kids use them under close supervision. Drew Cronelison explains that Ducks Unlimited focuses on preserving wetlands so that the animals living there can prosper.
“There’s over 900 species of animals that need wetlands to survive,” Cronelison said. “With the wood duck boxes, we’ll take and put them out. We got probably close to 80 on High Rock Lake and different areas around the county. That gives them somewhere to nest and build a hatch.”
Out on the lake, kids and their families looked to see if they could catch any trout left over from the winter. Kathi Godbee hasn’t fished since she was a kid, but that didn’t stop her from bringing her grandson to fish for “Water Wednesday.”
“He loves Creek Week,” Godbee said. “I think it’s great for the kids and the adults. We enjoy a lot of the things they do, too.”
