Web of Water is an outdoor adventure that uses a kayak expedition to promote an appreciation of our natural and cultural heritage as well as an understanding of the challenges we face with growth and change. Quietly and softly — much like our Native American ances­tors — we travel the great Saluda River watershed from its source in the mountains of South Carolina to the mouth of Charleston Harbor. Throughout the trip down this important watershed we experience the connections of an interactive web of water involving plant, animal, and human systems.  Stops along the way provide opportunities to bring contributors with historical and cultural knowledge into the adven­ture. The kayak expedition, led by Ian Sanchez, educator, naturalist, and executive director of Lowcountry Environmental Education Programs (LEEP), is an interactive teach­ing project that will directly engage school children, teachers, scientists, historians and folks who know the water and its stories as well as outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers.As the trip moves down the river, public events along the way in­volve local communities  in nature talks, kayaking demonstrations, and campfire discussions with expedi­tion participants. There are also opportunities to participate in Web of Water webisodes, which are short teaching videos posted on SCETV’s RiverVenture web­site. These webisodes allow a wider range of students to follow the expedition’s progress in the classroom or at home. Designed in connection with science and social studies standards, the Web of Water journey takes students to places many would never experience. In addition to improving their test scores, the documentary field trip aims to improve their understanding and appre­ciation of the natural and cultural legacy in which they live. Through an interdisciplin­ary approach, students encounter South Carolina’s amazing watershed as an ecology of a lived and living cultural heritage.With future funding, Web of Water will become a documentary and interactive web-based package. A feature length documen­tary will be produced for broadcast and DVD distribution. In addition, documentary shorts will be prepared for interdisciplinary use in both  science and social studies curricula.  

The Route:
 February 22 – March 17, 2008 Table Rock State ParkPelzerGreenwood State ParkThe Saluda RiverLake MurrayColumbia Saluda Shoals ParkThe Congaree RiverCongaree National Park Cedar CreekLake Marion Santee State ParkLake MoultrieThe Cooper RiverSantee Canal ParkChicken CreekNoisette CreekCharleston Harbor 

For more information contact:
Project Director: Ian SanchezIan@scleep.org  800-732-9625 (800-7day oak)

Creative Director: Gretchen Barbatsis gbcomms@aol.com  843-853-2818

www.scleep.org
www.riverventure.org                            

 Web of Water is funded in part by the S.C. Department of Parks,  Recreation and Tourism and the U.S. Department of Interior