Waterways in northeast Indiana have drawn generations of people to the region, and the movement for control of these natural channels led to the foundation of Fort Wayne. Though historically and continually significant to those living in the region, many cast the rivers and other waterways as polluted or disregard their importance completely. 

Pedal, Paddle, Play, an event organized by the Northeast Indiana Water Trails partnership, will give the community an opportunity to interact with and learn about area waterways through an engaging scavenger hunt and other fun activities. 

The eighth annual event will take place Saturday, June 24, at Promenade Park. Participants in the scavenger hunt have two options to complete their mission that will begin at 10 a.m. They can use bikes or kayaks to collect information they find in a provided “passport.”

Participants will also receive a T-shirt and some event sponsor “swag” with their registration.

Prizes to be won

Kyle Quandt, Northeast Indiana Water Trails board member, said the scavenger hunt usually takes up to two hours. 

“We’re asking you to look for a specific thing, and you’re going to write it down on your passport,” he said.

Hunters with a completed passport will receive six entries into a prize drawing. 

“We have a ton of prizes, and they can choose which ones they want to go for,” Quandt said. “We have gift certificates to local restaurants. We have certificates for boat rentals at Trading Post up in Mongo or at Fort Wayne Outfitters. We have water bottles, BruMates, we have bike gear, paddling gear, and then the grand prize is a complete kayak package. It’s a kayak, paddle life jacket, and roof rack donated by Fort Wayne Outfitters.”

While the scavenger hunt is by registration only, there are numerous other opportunities for fun at Promenade Park that day. Quandt said food, drinks, and live music from Cassie Beer await the public, as well as several environmental organizations ready to educate people about the waterways of northeast Indiana. 

Get outside

Quandt, whose 20 years of experience involves working with water quality in nonpoint source pollution, said that Northeast Indiana Water Trails partnership was born from an aim to have people engage with water trails and rivers. Pedal, Paddle, Play is the sole fundraiser for the organization. 

“In my experience, when people engage with the rivers, they start to have a better appreciation for taking care of them, learning about them, learning what’s in them,” he said.

“These are resources that are just right outside your back door that are free. Studies have shown that just being out in nature can refresh your soul. You can boost your morale. There’s so many benefits to it.

“We have 566 miles of rivers that we focus on. When we’re here doing this event, most of the people that participate, that come down, are local. So let’s talk about why that river is brown. Is it because it’s heavily polluted? No. So let’s teach people why it’s that way so they’re less afraid of it.”

Joining the cause

The regional partnership is an all-volunteer board, several of whom are small-business owners. Northeast Water Trails offers numerous ways to get involved in learning about and supporting area waterways.

Quandt said this year the partnership started monthly “paddle socials,” where participants paddle from one location to another, like a 9-mile float down the St. Joseph River from Spencerville to Leo-Cedarville.

“We’ll have one in July, August, and September, and possibly October, depending on how the weather is,” he said. “Later this summer, we’ll be doing some microfishing workshops, kind of geared toward kids, to get them excited about the creatures that live in the water.”

Another, more direct way to get involved is by volunteering. 

Quandt said the partnership is “always looking for volunteers to help with outreach events and marketing or whatever skills they might have that would be useful to us. … And then, we are looking to hire an executive director within the next year so that we can further our mission of creating more access and teaching people about water quality and water safety.”

To register for the scavenger hunt and for more information about Pedal, Paddle, Play, go to neiwatertrails.com.