River Days

by Caroline McCutcheon and Bella Peachey

River days at Gov School are always a chaotic adventure, whether good or bad. We often take field trips to have fun science experiences. These include macroinvertebrate or chemical testing to understand what is happening in our environment. The Covered Bridge at Meem’s Bottom and Red Banks are spots on the river that MRGS visits often. At some points in the school year we were going twice a week!

The first day we went to do macroinvertebrate testing was one of those particular bad days. We were confused by what we were actually supposed to be doing, and the weather was awful. It had been raining for a couple days prior. This meant everything was muddy and the water levels were raised. It wasn’t raining when we left the school, but sometime during the five-minute bus ride over to the Covered Bridge, it had started. This meant that it was not only cold, but we were also wet. Now, you would think that since we were at the river, we would have expected this. Apparently, we did not. Many didn’t bring extra clothes or shoes and were dreading the trip home. To add another layer of dread, many had gotten wet up to their shoulders because of the high water levels. Since this was our first time in the field for macroinvertebrate testing, most of us had no idea what was happening. We had many days in the classroom preparing and learning about the process, but that definitely didn’t compare to the real river testing. Being in the field is so much different than in the classroom. All of the organisms that we had spent hours learning about and studying, all looked different in real life. Ultimately, this was the most positive thing that could have happened. Even though we didn’t see it then, we learned so much and were able to use it in the trips to come. Now we know how to handle the various conditions of the river!

Going to Red Banks on a warm, sunny day at the beginning of school turned out to be one of the best days for bonding and memories at Gov School. The MRGS teachers were taking the juniors for a chemical testing day. We got through the testing fast, so we had the rest of the river time to ourselves! All of the students started to get in the river and having fun; eventually the teachers joined too. We gathered around the waterfall in the middle of the river, where the rapids were flowing fastest. A big game of “Down by the Banks” started: the punishment if you were landed on was jumping in the river and floating down the rapids. This went on for sometime, and each round the group got bigger and louder with laughter. Eventually, the group broke apart, and everyone started swimming and playing in the water. The water was up to most people's shoulders that day, so it was refreshing to get wet as the day got hot. On the shore, there were many groups sitting in the sun talking and taking pictures. When it was time to go we all dried off and got back onto the bus. The bus ride back is short, but still fun. The whole ride back we were singing songs and playing games like “Who is Most Likely to?” When we got back to the school we quickly changed and composed ourselves before going on with the school day.

There are fun and… interesting days at the river, but no matter what we do, we always make tons of memories and get bonded closer together!