RCP Fundraising Sub-Committee Meeting
The next meeting of the RCP Fundraising Sub-Committee is not yet scheduled. All RCP members are invited to attend.  Contact sub-committe chair Amber Brookins for more info. 

Waterloo Education Committee Meeting
The next meeting of the Waterloo Education Committee will be announced soon. Contact RCP chair Heike Perko for more information.

2010 Waterloo Aquatic Education Center Activity Dates!!

Dates for 2010 WAEC activities have been scheduled!  Stay tuned for more details as each activity date approaches.  Contact Heike Perko at heikeperko@ohiohills.com for more details on any WAEC activity.

Summer Science Camps - 2010 summer camps were a HUGE success!  Thanks to all who volunteered and attended!  Don't forget to come back in the fall for our fun science days! 

Fall Science Days at Waterloo - Fall Science Days at Waterloo are scheduled for October 9th and 23rd.  No registration required, just show up ready to have fun!  Please dress for the weather and bring a lunch.  All school-aged children are welcome, but parents are encouraged to stay with the little ones!  Please check back for more details.

News

2010 Summer Camps were a great success!

Thanks so much to all the great kids, parents, and wonderful volunteers that made this year's first camp such a fun time.

Don't forget to sign-up for fall camps and check out our 2010 Summer Camp Photo Gallery - Coming Soon!


2010 Spring Events!
2010 Spring Activity Camps were a great success! Dozens of kids and parents took part in a number of our spring activities at the Waterloo Education Center. Making paper and learning about wildflowers, hunting amphibians and studying macroinvertebrates (bugs!), kids fishing, and canoeing were just a few great activities during our spring camps and family fun day this year. Check out all the good times in our gallery and join us for more as summer and fall camps and more great activities are yet to come in 2010!

2010 Spring Photo Gallery


Owl Prowl and Bonfire!
Thanks to the nearly 55 people who joined us on Friday January 15th for a fun winter evening!  We enjoyed a bonfire (complete with smores), a night hike, and even called in a screech owl!

2010 Owl Prowl Gallery. Give a hoot, click here!

Fall Day Camps
Fall Day Camps were held at the Waterloo Aquatic Education Center on November 7th and 14th.  Thanks to everyone who attended and volunteered!

Click here for Fall 2009 day camp photos!


RCP 2009 Annual Dinner

The Raccoon Creek Partnership held our 3rd Annual RCP Dinner on Sunday November 8th.  Everyone had a great time with almost 40 people in attendance!  RCP members voted on the 2010 RCP board of directors. 

Click here to see the new faces of the RCP Board of Directors!

Second Annual Raccoon Creek Poker Run!

The RCP held its second annual poker run on October 3rd, 2009.  Thank you to all of our riders, volunteers, and sponsors!  

If you have ideas of how to improve next years Poker Run, or would like to be a sponsor please email amylmackey@gmail.com. 

2008 Poker Run photo gallery!!



Waterloo Summer Camps Were a Huge Success!

Thanks to all of the campers and volunteers who made the Waterloo 2009 Summer camps such a huge success!!  We had a total of 40 camplers during the two sessions.  Topics and activities included a Division of Wildlife electro-fishing demonstration on Penrod Lake, songbird mist-netting with Hocking College ornithologist Bob Scott Placier, hiking, fishing, and nature crafts.  


Click here for photos of the 2009 Summer Camp





Alexander 4th Grade Watershed Education
On May 14th, 2009, Several volunteers from the Waterloo Aquatic Education Center held a day of watershed education for the 4th graders at Alexander Elementary School.  Approximately 120 students participated in the event with included a pond study and the Enviroscape.  Thanks to everyone who volunteered!  Be sure to check out the photos at the link below!

Alexander Watershed Education Photo Gallery




2009 Raccoon Creek Annual Canoe Float
The 2009 Raccoon Creek Spring Canoe Float was held Saturday May 2nd.  Instead of the usual float route starting at the Hope School house, this year's float was held in the middle section of Raccoon Creek, near the town of Radcliff in Vinton County.  This section of Raccoon Creek is the location of the 2009 Pierce Run Acid Mine Drainage Remediation Project.  Thanks to everyone who attended!


Click here for photos of the May 2nd Canoe Float!


2009 Appalachian Ohio Alliance Earth Day Event:  "Saving Our Land"
The Appalachian Ohio Alliance held their annual Earth Day event at the Waterloo Aquatic Education Center on April 26th.  This year's event, "Saving Our Land" featured Raccoon Creek's own Ben McCament, Watershed Coordinator, and included a hiking tour of the property.  


The Waterloo Aquatic Education Center Has Been Painted!

Thanks to everyone who
helped clean, scrape, and paint the Waterloo Aquatic Education Center!  The building looks GREAT!  Eagle Scout Troop 236, of Logan Ohio, Chartered by the Trinity United Methodist Church, completed the painting.  Mark Johnson, the lead scout, was assisted by George and Jeannie Johnson, Steve and Nate Poling, Matt, Mark and John Bartholomew, Noah Johnson, Tim and Dan Ryan, and Sean and Marianna Ryan.  Thank you all!


Raccoon Creek County Park Stream Sweep / Trash Clean-up

The RCP and the RCWTA conducted a clean-up of the Raccoon Creek County Park in Gallia County (lower Raccoon Creek) on Saturday August 16th.  Thanks to those who helped clean up this beautiful park! 

View more photos of the Raccoon Creek County Park Clean-up!


Thank You Athens Foundation and ODNR Division of Wildlife!
We would like to express our deepest appreciation to the Athens Foundation and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.  Both recently awarded grants to the RCP.  The Athens Foundation funding has been used to purchase exterior paint and painting supplies for the Waterloo Aquatic Education Center as well as propane and drinking water at the site for one year.  The DOW grant will be used for aquatic education equipment and supplies for Center. 

Zanesville Girls Science Club 

On Saturday May 17th, 13 girls from the Zanesville Girls Science Club attended a day filled with aquatic science at the Waterloo Aquatic Education Center (WAEC).  Events for the day included the Passport to Fishing Program, which teaches youth the importance of ethical and safe angling, as well as water sampling, a pond study, fish print t-shirts, and a trip to the Carbondale doser.  Thank you to all of the participants, volunteers, and teachers who made the first program at the WAEC such a huge success! 

See pictures from the event in the Zanesville Girls Science Club photo gallery.
 

2008 Waterfest
The 13th annual Waterfest was held at Athens High School in the Plains on Tuesday, May 6th.  Around 300 third graders from around the county participated in the event, enjoying an assortment of programs from trees and snakes to pollution and owl pellets!  Representatives from Sunday Creek, Monday Creek, Federal Creek, and Raccoon Creek joined forces to educate the youth about acid mine drainage formation, treatment, and its affects on the environment. 

During lunch, Mike Greenlee, fisheries biologist with ODNR Division of Wildlife, entertained the crowds with native fish ranging from tiny minnows to a giant flathead catfish, nearly the size of the children!

Make sure to view the Waterfest 2008 Photo Gallery!

8th Annual Raccoon Creek Float          
Sunday, April 27th, 2008, the Raccoon Creek Water Trail Association and the Raccoon Creek Partnership sponsored the 8th annual Raccoon Creek float through breatiful Zaleski State Forest.  The weather cooperated and 38 paddlers participated in the trip which began at Hope School House (near Lake Hope) and ended at Crow Road near SR 356. Map.  This section of Raccoon Creek has seen dramatic improvements in water quality and fish populations over the past decade.  The unique geology, forested landscape, wetlands, and wildflowers are something worth seeing!

Be sure to check out the 2008 Canoe Float photo gallery!

Thank you to all of the participants and to those who helped make the trip such a huge success!

Hope to see you next year!