Boaters, kayakers and fishermen using Grassy Creek did a double take last week as a flotilla of large blue rafts made their way from the public access on Armstrong Road to Tippecanoe Lake.  Each of the 10 rafts was carrying a captain (instructor) and 10 Warsaw High School Freshmen crew members wearing life jackets and each equipped with a bright orange paddle.  A boat carrying members of the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Dept Dive Team was not far behind. Named the “Warsaw High School Freshman Academy” a joint venture between the Kosciusko County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), Tippecanoe Watershed Foundation, and the Warsaw Community School Corporation, was designed to bring the 500 Warsaw High School Freshmen out of a typical school classroom setting and into nature’s classroom.  Additional sponsors included American Water, YMCA Camp Crosley, Lake Tippecanoe Property Owners Association, Arrowhead Country RC&D, and Pie-Eyed Petey’s Marina. As each bright blue raft navigated through the meandering creek, boat captains/ instructors, some of which were SWCD employees, other teachers, an Indiana Conservation Officer, and volunteers, would identify plants, wildlife, and mussels that lived in the fragile ecosystem surrounding them.  Each raft would take the temperature of the water and test for dissolved oxygen levels, discussing the importance of both to sustain good aquatic life.  There was also a lesson on teamwork.  Crewmembers soon discovered that their raft would only go in circles if they didn’t paddle together. As the student’s day ended, each should have left knowing that they live on a very fragile watershed.  The environmental decisions that they and their generation make will impact the many Grassy Creeks in this country.