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Colorado River serves as CJHS-RC learning tool
By Jacob Truchard, Staff Writer
Some Columbus Junior High School-Riverside Campus students were able to experience the Colorado River first-hand during a school field trip Monday, May 5. Thirty-three CJHS students received the opportunity to ride canoes from Howell's Canoe Livery to Beason's Park in Columbus.
Lower Colorado River Authority representatives Brian Adams and Lee Fritsch, Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden John Kohloeffel, Texas Agrilife Extension Service Fisheries Program Specialist Peter Woods and local volunteers were present to educate the students about river habitat and water safety.
Frank Howell, of Howell's Canoe Livery, donated the canoes for the trip as well as participated as a volunteer, instructing the students on how to safely wear a life jacket and how to properly ride in a canoe.
"It was the first time the students had a chance to go on a trip like this," Howell said. "They learned a lot about safety including how to wear life jackets properly and were instructed by others in regards to plant life, environmental awareness and animal wildlife. They learned about the river and how to respect it."
CJHS-RC athletics coach Linda Kobersky helped guide the students down the river and was happy to see the students' reaction to the surroundings.
"The kids loved it," Kobersky said. "Some of them had never been on the river."
Kobersky added that it was exciting to watch students' reactions and to see them learn to work as a team.
"If they worked independently, they were never going to get down the river successfully," Kobersky said. "We were able to incorporate several academic disciplines including science, history, math and physical education."
Kobersky said the trip would not have been a success without the help and support of so many people.
"We would like to thank Frank Howell for his canoes and expertise on the river, Kathy Burris for providing lifeguarding and plant identification, Dale Rankin for his presentation about caring for the river and ways to keep the river clean," Kobersky said. "We would also like to thank the game warden (Kohloeffel) for discussing the rules of the river, LCRA (Adams and Fritsch) for explaining how the river is being used for energy as well as the prevention of flooding."
Kobersky also thanked Bill Stein for his presentation on the history of the Colorado River at Beason's Park and Tom Stallman, volunteer, for his calming influence on the water with some of the less experienced canoeists.
Stein gave the students a brief history of the river including how it was a way for boats to travel that shipped goods to market prior to the construction of the railroad.
He added that due to periodic flooding of the river, which takes place approximately every 10 years, LCRA constructed dams in the 1920s-1930s to solve the problem.
"This stopped the river from flooding," Stein said.
Kobersky also wanted to thank members of the CJHS-RC administration and faculty for contributing their time to assist with the river trip.
"We also want to thank CJHS Assistant Principal Gary Leopold for being the extra adult on the river so that all of the seventh and eighth grade P.E. classes could participate," Kobersky said. "This was learning in its purest form, hands-on with immediate application."
Leopold said he thought the trip was well organized and that experts on hand had a wealth of information, keeping the students attention.
"This really helped the students connect with surroundings that are basically located close to their environment," Leopold said. "I really enjoyed canoeing with the students and trying to teach them the task of paddling a canoe."
Leopold added that it was a great experience to watch some of the students' progress from going across the river, bank to bank, to actually moving down the river.
CJHS-RC student Alan Gamboa said the field trip was a learning experience.
"I learned a lot about the river and the history of what happened way back then," Gamboa said. "The best part was the canoeing."
CJHS-RC student Jeff Cook commented how the trip was not only educational but also exciting at the same time.
"Canoeing was a great experience," Cook said. "I loved the adrenaline rush when we went through the rapids."
CJHS-RC student Hanna Demorest said that even though it was tricky to learn how to maneuver a canoe on the river, it was still a fun field trip.
"We may have flipped a lot, but the trip was very enjoyable," Demorest said.
Other adults contributing their time and knowledge to the event were CJHS-RC eighth grade science teacher Scott Klump and volunteer Russell Prause.
Kobersky commented how this would have normally been a rather expensive trip on the river with 21 canoes traveling along the river but everyone from the school was thankful to Howell for donating the equipment and services.
Howell concluded that the first ever field trip of its kind was an overall success. All the adults involved helped make it a fun and educational trip for the students.
"It was a learning experience for all of us and an experience the kids can't get in the classroom," Howell said. "It gave the students a chance to learn, hands-on, about the river and the environment."
Howell said he hopes to make this an annual field trip for the students and complimented everyone who involved that helped make everything run smoothly.
"We had a great group of people to make this work," Howell said.
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