It’s a hot one in late June at Old Woman Creek in Huron. A group of students from Cuyahoga County have taken to the water by kayak and canoe.
It’s tentative for some, this is their first time out on the water. Others, emboldened by previous experience, embark more confidently.
The students are members of the inaugural cohort of Cuyahoga County’s Fresh Water Institute.
See You at the Top, also known as SYATT is a nonprofit promoting safe, accessible outdoor recreation and a partner with the institute. Kayaking only scratches the surface of what the program has to offer, SYATT Co-founder Erika Hood said.
"We went to Kelleys Island, and they were doing some water learning so much about the lake ecology," Hood said. "Out on the boat, they were able to go fishing, the glacial grooves, which is really, you know, iconic ... evidence that we have about how our lake was formed."
Another partner organization in the Fresh Water Institute is Teaching Cleveland, which along with SYATT, spent the past year developing the curriculum for the summer. It’s centered around immersive learning.
Teaching Cleveland Executive Director Greg Deegan said they began working with the 28 students in this cohort in January. Discussions about the Great Lakes included everything from natural history and water systems to the blue economy and environmental justice.
"The idea was to get a broad sort of look at water, the water ecosystems, the Great Lakes watershed and how it all connects with our daily lives," he said.
The county wanted to ensure there was a diverse mix of students, Deegan said, with about a third from Cleveland Metropolitan School District, from suburban districts and from the exurbs. The biggest requirement for students was to have an interest in the environment.
After six months of learning sessions, the students spend a week visiting various spots in the Lake Erie watershed. On their bike and water day, they make a stop at Edgewater Beach.
For students like Isabel Carlin, a rising senior from Rocky River, the program is her first step toward a career in environmental science.
"I have, again, always been really interested in the general area of environment but also just like the way it interacts with modern day," Carlin said. "I think the Fresh Water Institute has been really great about introducing different career paths I could reasonably pursue. That has been invaluable to me."
For Carlin, touring water treatment systems at Cleveland Water and the wastewater treatment plants at the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District were highlights.
"Oh my gosh, that was so amazing," she said. "We just saw all the places where our sewage goes in, all the different steps and stages of removing bio-matter and how they disinfect things."
Evan Kluge from Cleveland Heights said he's already looking ahead to a career in environmental law.
Later in the day, while he and other members of the cohort are aboard a tiki boat floating on the Cuyahoga River Kluge reflected on the ways the institute shifted his relationship with water.
"You get to see all aspects of the lake that ... my home's right by and how that affects me and affects everyone and how we keep the lake clean, get the clean water," he said, "because when you turn on the sink, nobody thinks of how it got there."
Stevie Williams from Lakewood will be a senior this fall. Though she's already been involved in some environmental volunteer work, she said her dream is to work to save endangered species. The institute gives her an opportunity she might not get otherwise, Williams said.
"Young adults usually feel kind of powerless in a lot of situations involving activism and I feel like I've been given like an opportunity to actually have my voice heard."
The Fresh Water Institute and its partners hope the students will return for the second year of the program, to expand on what they’ve learned so far. Erika Hood says she’s already working on ways to get kids more involved next year.
"The Fresh Water Institute is a baby," she said. "There's a lot more growing to do for this cohort and we wanted to leave room for them to help us inform what other young people might wanna see."
This year’s fellowship wrapped up with a reception where students shared what they learned with their families, before preparing to head to Niagara Falls the following morning to learn about how power can be generated from the waterfall.
"I've only been once," Carlin said, "but I am really excited to just go to probably just the hugest example of freshwater we have nearby.
The county hopes to begin accepting applications for next year's cohort in early fall.
