Trip inspires boy to learn about rivers

Joe Cook is fond of saying that Paddle Georgia can change lives. Evan Newman is living proof.

The 12-year-old Athens middle school student went on his first Paddle Georgia trip with his family last summer. The trip sparked an interest in rivers around here, which led to a science fair project on the water quality of the North Oconee.

Last week, the project took him all the way to the state final. He finished second among middle-schoolers and also won two conservation awards.

And it all started during a warm week in June, paddling his way across the state. Evan watched Project Wet, a water-sampling project held in conjunction with the Adopt-A-Stream program and Paddle Georgia, which each year takes groups on weeklong camping excursions, paddling rivers across the state.

He was hooked.

"It really inspired me," he said. "I thought if this was the water quality up north, what's the quality here?"

Evan sampled water from three spots in the North Oconee last fall and found that the quality in the river that runs through Athens is similar to the Coosawattee he paddled last year.

He checked the North Oconee near Newton Bridge Road, under College Station Road and along the North Oconee Greenway.

He saw that, early in the fall, there was a spike of nitrates near College Station. The farmers may have been using more fertilizers, he said.

"My hypothesis was 'Does water quality change over time, and does land use affect water quality?' " Evan said. "There was a little change, but it wasn't horrible."

This June, Evan wants to go further with his research. He's tagging along with Project Wet and plans to sample the Broad a