More than 170 McDowell fifth graders to attend Water Festival

More than 170 fifth graders from Bradshaw Elementary, Coalfield Elementary, Iaeger Elementary and Southside K-8 School spent Thursday, May 21, at Linkous Park in Welch for the McDowell County Water Festival, a countywide gathering built around the county’s most basic need: clean, reliable water. The festival, co-hosted by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and Reconnecting McDowell, also drew support from Friends of the Tug Fork River.

The day was designed as a hands-on lesson in water resources, not a classroom lecture. WVDEP says Project WET water festivals are meant to build awareness and knowledge through stations and exhibits, usually at or near students’ schools or in a local outdoor learning space like a park. The curriculum is aimed at fifth grade students, and it blends social studies, geography, math, language arts, art and journaling. In practice, that makes water literacy a countywide skill, not just a science assignment.

That focus carries extra weight in McDowell County. The Tug Fork River begins in the county and is part of the Big Sandy River Basin, which ties the lessons at Linkous Park directly to the watershed that shapes life here. WVDEP’s ecological assessment of the Tug Fork watershed says early coal mining expansion and inadequate sewage disposal have contributed to water-quality degradation for decades. For students in Welch, Bradshaw, Iaeger and the surrounding communities, the festival put that history into terms they can see and use.

The event also showed how much local coordination is still required to teach a subject that affects every household. Friends of the Tug Fork River says it helps run the festival with Reconnecting McDowell, WVDEP, McDowell County Schools and others, guiding students through stations about watersheds and local water resources. That kind of shared effort matters in a county where services are often fragmented and where water access and reliability remain constant public concerns.

A 2023 festival at the same park brought together more than 180 fourth graders from Bradshaw, Iaeger, Fall River, Welch and Kimble elementary schools. At that time, Tomi Bergstrom said the goal was “to highlight local water resources and help students become environmental stewards.” This year’s return to Linkous Park showed the same idea still has traction in McDowell: if children understand the county’s water systems early, they are more likely to understand why those systems need attention, investment and protection for the years ahead.