CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Over 100 fifth-grade students from Kanawha, Lincoln, and Boone counties are set to attend the inaugural Forks of Coal Water Festival on Tuesday at the Forks of Coal State Natural Area and Claudia L. Workman Wildlife Education Center in Alum Creek.
The event is being hosted by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's (WVDEP)
Project WET program, the state Division of Natural Resources, and West Virginia State University.
The day-long event will feature a variety of activities designed to promote awareness, knowledge, and stewardship of water resources.
"The is the perfect opportunity for students to get outside and explore their local watershed and experience first-hand the important role water plays in our environment," said WVDEP Project WET coordinator Tomi Bergstrom. "They'll also get to visit one of the premier education centers in the area that is designed to promote one of West Virginia's most valuable resources – water."
Students will learn more about aquatic life such as brook trout and how certain bugs indicate stream health, the water cycle, wetlands, recycling, and composting, and tour the wildlife center on a scavenger hunt.
For more information about the event, contact Tomi Bergstrom at 304-382-5476 or Kim Smith, DNR Wildlife Educator, at 304-549-6760.
Located at
301 Forks of Coal Way in Alum Creek, the Claudia L. Workman Wildlife Education Center is open Tuesday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and features 1,500-gallon aquarium, reptile and amphibian tanks, wildlife and habitat management areas, a wildlife observation area featuring a honeybee hive and birdwatching stations, and more.
To learn more about the Claudia L. Workman Wildlife Education Center, Forks of Coal State Natural Area and other natural and scenic areas in West Virginia, visit
WVdnr.gov/natural-and-scenic-areas.