Published: June 07, 2009 07:43 pm      

Festival aims to raise awareness

Fifth annual Celebrate the Wildcat Creek offers learning experience.

CUTLER — A line of people eagerly waited to take a trip along Wildcat Creek near Cutler Saturday afternoon.

One by one, families entered canoes with their tour guides who helped with the journey down the creek.

Visitors were able to float along and enjoy the scenery of trees, while hoping to avoid any shallow areas in the water.

The fifth annual “Celebrate the Wildcat Creek” took place at Adams Mill near Cutler on Saturday.

The event was sponsored by the Wildcat Creek Foundation and Wildcat Guardians. Members of the Wildcat Creek Watershed Alliance were also present at the event.

Wildcat Guardian member Charlie Skoog said there was a reason the organizations staged the event each year.

“It’s very important to us, just to create awareness,” he said. “When people discover the valley out here, it becomes one of their favorite places.”

Visitors had the opportunity to explore the Adams Mill grounds, a fishing area and the 70-acre Oxbow area acquired last June by the Wildcat Creek Foundation.

Those interested in walking around the Oxbow area had the opportunity to see more than 20,000 tree seedlings just planted this year.

“We’re really excited to restore this area,” Skoog said.

Families were also able to take advantage of free canoe rides, take a tour of Adams Mill, and take nature hikes.

Dan Franzmeier, a member of the Wildcat Creek Foundation and Wildcat Guardians, said the grass trail and 50-acre field inside the strip were both purchased within the last two years. The goal is to restore the field to the way it looked when European settlers arrived.

Both groups would like visitors to eventually see the land in its original beauty.

Persis Newman, with the Wildlife Creek Foundation, said the group started out 35 years ago with the goal of giving the public access to the creek, as well as preserving the creek corridor, the land the creek runs through. She said much of the land the group had acquired was in Carroll and Tippecanoe counties and was either purchased, leased or gained through conservation easements.

Celebrate the Wildcat Creek draws attention to the creek each year, Newman said. It also offers lessons in how to use the creek properly, along with other information.

Newman was pleased with those who showed up for the event.

“I think it’s encouraging,” she said.

Skoog said the event started in Kokomo. After the Wildcat Guardian group adopted the stream from eastern Howard County over to Lafayette, the group decided Adams Mill was an ideal spot for the event.

Carroll J. Baker, also a member of both Wildcat Creek Foundation and Wildcat Guardian, said he wouldn’t miss the annual event for the world.

Baker, who owns 160 acres of land next to the middle fork of the creek, feels it is important for people to visit during the event.

“It’s a way for us to advertise our work,” he said.

He also enjoys watching the growth of the woods each year and hopes others realize all the hard work involved.

Jill Scharer, who owns Adams Mill along with her husband, Mark, said the event not only attracts visitors to the mill, but also allows visitors to become more aware of the creek.

“It allows people to know it is here,” she said.

Conservation and environmental groups also set up displays to allow visitors to read about the concept of preserving not only the creek but the land surrounding it. In addition, several painters and a musicians were on hand.

Artist Dana Zier of Kouts took the opportunity to set up an easel and create a painting of the landscape next to the creek. She said she heard about the event from another artist.

She said stopping by the festival was a perfect chance for her niece visiting from Montana to experience Indiana’s nature and enjoy a canoe ride.

Lafayette residents Kate and Mark LaMar brought their 14-year-old son, Tim.

“We’ve been to the event before,” said Kate. “We’ve been long supporters of the creek and keeping it in the most natural state. We’ve been supporters since the late ’60s or early ’70s. Our interest goes way back.”

Kate added it was important for others to become aware of the creek and all it offered. Her family enjoys taking the free canoe trip down the creek each year.

“It’s a little gem in our area,” said Kate.

Denise Massie is a staff writer at the Pharos-Tribune. She can be reached at (574) 732-5151 or denise.massie@pharostribune.com