Kayakers Take Educational Trip Down the Great Miami River

The Edison State Community College Student Senate enjoyed a beautiful day for their spring Float, Learn, and Feast event. The event brought together over a dozen students, faculty, staff, and friends of Edison State for an educational trip down the Great Miami River in Piqua.

Jeff Lange of Protecting Our Water-Ways (POWW) joined the kayakers once again as they set out on the river. Since 2004, POWW has invited volunteers to get on the Great Miami River from southern Sidney to southern Piqua to remove trash from the water. In their 19 years, POWW has eliminated over 200,000 pounds of trash, including over 1,900 tires, from their 16 miles of adopted riverway.

“When we’re on the water in the city of Piqua, you’ll see big green grass slopes,” Lange told kayakers before getting on the water. “Those slopes are levees that the Miami Conservancy District put in during the 1917–18 construction phase of putting in protection levees and dams to keep things like the Great Flood of 1913 from happening again.”

“There are five total dams, and they all dam up a river or creek that feeds into the Great Miami River. None of them actually dam the Great Miami River; they dam tributaries coming in, and the reason for that is to control their flow.”

The float began at Roadside Park in Piqua and ended at the Great Miami River Trail near Bridge Street. Participants floated in kayaks purchased with funds raised during Down a River, Down a Beer (DARDAB) and received a free lunch and t-shirt.

Student Senate serves as the voice of Edison State students and devotes time to help make the College the best social, educational, and community-driven college possible.

For information on upcoming Float, Learn, and Feast events, email Student Senate.