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STUART, Fla. -- On Thursday, a group of children enjoyed a day on the St. Lucie River.
For 9-year-old Peter Clark it was his first time on a boat. “The wind is good the sun is out so it feels good right now,” he said.
It’s clear this is the good life for Peter and his friends. But for Kathleen Lannon this is her opportunity to teach them an important lesson. “Sometimes the best way to learn is when you don’t know you’re learning,” she said.
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These aren’t your typical camp counselors. They work for the Stuart Police Department. Every Thursday during the summer they take students out on the police boat and teach them about how to protect waterways.
“Just for example we are going past a bottle right now in the water that one of our kids just pointed out to us. So that’s the rewarding part,” Lannon said.
Within seconds these kids were working together to get the piece of plastic out of the River.
“Some people are very mean and they put plastic bottles and plastic in the water where fish can get trapped in it or turtles can get trapped in it,” Clark said.
From picking up trash and throwing it away to learning how to properly operate a boat Lannon dove deep into helping these kids sail to success.
“It’s great to teach kids something, but to see them actually take action and get involved in it. That’s the rewarding part,” she said.