award-winning cwc program
freshwater snorkeling
The Youth Education Snorkeling Program has quickly grown into one of our most enjoyable events! In collaboration with area middle & high schools and community groups, along with our partners at the US Forest Service, CWC offers no-cost snorkeling sessions at the end of Spring, through the Summer, into early Fall. Students are transported to river locations on the Calapooia or South Santiam Rivers and provided with all the equipment needed to explore the river in a whole new way!
If your school or youth organization is interested in participating in the Snorkeling Program, please drop us an email!
Snorkeling Program Manager, Kristen Daly has been awarded the United States Forest Service Rise to the Future Award for Public Awareness for the Calapooia Watershed Council’s Snorkeling Program.
The Rise to the Future Awards were initiated more than 30 years ago as part of the original Rise to the Future National Fisheries Program Strategy. These annual awards honor Forest Service staff and partners for their leadership in stewardship of fisheries, soil, water, air and wildlife resources on national forests and grasslands.
“Willamette National Forest Youth Snorkeling Program is this year’s recipients of the Public Awareness Award. The Youth Snorkeling program is a collaboration between FS (Erick Larkin) and the Calapooia Watershed Council (Kristen Daly). The program is designed to get local students (grades 6-12) engaged in learning about watershed processes, increase their feeling of connection to the river, and to learn about the ecosystem services provided by their National Forest. Students are introduced to the “we all live upriver” concept with the hope that it may foster ownership and responsibility to sustain the health of our watersheds. Erick and Kristen were joined in their effort by the South Santiam Watershed Council and the Pacific Northwest Research Station to further expand the program, reaching kids in multiple communities outside the forest. The Youth Snorkeling program has been beneficial in bringing kids and nature together.”
– US Forest Service