“I’m not much of an artist,” she said. “After giving it some thought, the design just came to me.”

Clark’s artwork will be printed on 700 shirts for this spring’s Kids in the Creek participants. She also received a Visa gift card from HomeTrust Bank and a private tour of Rikki Tikki Tees Screen Printing and Design Shop for a hands-on demonstration of the printing process.

First and second runners up Migali Michua and Gracie Rinker, also from Waynesville Middle School, received gift certificates to Jack the Dipper Ice Cream.

This spring will mark the 24th year of Kids in the Creek, Haywood Waterways’ premier water quality education event for all Haywood County eighth-grade students. The program gives students a hands-on outdoor experience that coincides with the science curriculum, with local experts teaching them about watershed ecology, water chemistry and aquatic wildlife. The program shows how waterways become polluted and what students can do to help protect them.

“We really want the students to see what lives in the water,” said Christine O’Brien, Kids in the Creek coordinator. “We find many students haven’t had that experience. It’s also nice to have a program that enhances in class learning.”

Kids in the Creek is cosponsored by Haywood County Schools with funding from the Pigeon River Fund of the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, Tennessee Valley Authority, and proceeds from Haywood Waterways’ annual Plunge fundraiser.  For more information, to become a volunteer, or to donate, contact Eric Romaniszyn at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.476.4667.