HCWA welcomes 2,936 third grade students for field trips at the Cubihatcha Center
HCWA welcomes 2,936 third grade students for field trips at the Cubihatcha Center
“Cubihatcha Kids” go outdoors for class, enjoying hands-on activities in science and more
(Locust Grove, GA – Oct. 21, 2026) The Henry County Water Authority (HCWA) and its staff wrapped up two weeks of third-grade field trips at the Cubihatcha Outdoor Education Center in Locust Grove earlier this month, as 2,936 “Cubihatcha Kids” enjoyed hands-on activities in science and related topics.
The Cubihatcha Kids field trips provide every third-grade student in Henry County public schools with an opportunity to apply their classroom lessons in an outdoor setting. The activities held during the field trips correlate with the third-grade Georgia Standards for Excellence and Applied STEM curricula.
Event organizers are calling this year’s Cubihatcha Kids field trips the “best ever” in the 24-year history of the event.
“‘Thanks!’ is just not enough to say to everyone who participated in this year’s Cubihatcha Kids, says Rebecca Bodron, HCWA Naturalist who helped organize the event and handle logistics between the Authority and Henry County Board of Education. “We were able to introduce 2,936 Henry County students and their teachers to a variety of conservation topics and activities geared toward igniting their curiosity and enthusiasm.”
Topics covered during the two weeks, when third-grade students and teachers from 28 Henry County elementary schools were on the Cubihatcha campus, included: the water cycle, water quality, the properties and nature of H2O, Native American history, native wildlife, honeybees, pollinators, crawdads, owl pellets, watersheds, stormwater pollution, forest protection and management, and more.
“My students were immediately engaged, loving the visuals, and really involved and enjoying the information provided,” said Deborah Holley, a teacher at Stockbridge Elementary. “I was blown away by the activities and the expertise of those teaching.”
One of the new participating organizations volunteering this year was the Henry County Parks & Recreation Department. Members of their staff were on hand to teach the popular “Build-A-Park” class.
“This is a very good educational program to get kids out in nature to see their relationship with nature,” says Katrina Wagoner, Special Events Coordinator with Henry County Parks & Recreation. “It was interesting all week to see how expansive their imaginations can be.”
While the class activities are relatable to third-grade STEM curricula, teachers also see the value of getting their students outdoors to drive those lessons home.
“What a great hands-on experience for my students,” said LaQuida Landry, a teacher at Rocky Creek Elementary School. “My kids are saying they love this way more than being in class indoors. They can experience it – not just hear about it.”
“We thoroughly enjoyed it, how it reinforces the things we are teaching,” added Tracy Clayton, a third-grade teacher at Oakland Elementary. “(The field trips) are very well organized, and we enjoyed being in nature and having class outside. And everyone was very knowledgeable at every station (class) we visited.”
The HCWA and Henry County Board of Education, through their Henry County Outdoor Education Partnership, established the Cubihatcha Kids field trips in 2003.
The Cubihatcha Center provides the ideal site to host such a large undertaking, which included two weeks of field trips for 125 classes from 28 Henry County elementary schools. Cubihatcha, which is a Native American reference for “land between the lakes,” consists of approximately 1,000 acres of protected green space, with nature trails, outdoor classroom gazebos, and the HCWA Reservoir & Land Management Office and staff on site.
The Cubihatcha Center was constructed in 1999, to complement the Authority’s wetlands mitigation plan – a strategy to preserve green space and replace wetlands impacted by development and the expansion of the HCWA system to accommodate a growing customer base, which includes more than 74,000 metered accounts today.
Todd Brackin (center), HCWA Safety and Emergency Management Supervisor, leads a class on Native Americans during the annual Cubihatcha Kids field trips.
Paige Ferguson, Special Events Assistant with the Henry County Parks & Recreation Department, instructs third-grade students on how to “Build-A-Park” during their annual field trip to the HCWA Cubihatcha Center.
Xenia Johnson, with Henry County 4-H, demonstrates an activity teaching third grade students about the properties of water during this year’s Cubihatcha Kids field trips.
Danny Harvey, with the Henry County Beekeepers, teaches third grade students about honeybees during this year’s Cubihatcha Kids field trips.
Dave Peterson (center), HCWA Chief Financial Officer, teaches the “Sum of the Parts” class during the annual third-grade field trips at the Cubihatcha Center in Locust Grove.
Jeb Holder, HCWA Naturalist, assists a student with examining “Owl Pellets” during the annual Cubihatcha Kids field trips.
